


Zootopia: The Tail of Two Tails

by classifiedsophie



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-16 00:34:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 42,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7245100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/classifiedsophie/pseuds/classifiedsophie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not too soon after the infamous "Night Howler" case, Nick gathers all the courage to tell Judy how he feels. However, when the tides turn and fate isn't on his side, Nick must risk his sanity and life to find the missing love of his life, Judy Hopps. Not only that, together they have to show Zootopia the power of equality</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Bud of a Beginning

Chapter 1: The Bud of a Beginning

Nick sat in the passenger seat of the squad car and drifted off into space. Something was bugging him, an idea that both plagued his dreams and his thoughts. It was like a bug that would never leave him alone, except in an even more horrifying way. Instead of buzzing, all he could hear were the feminine screams and wails of a bunny. Not just any bunny, as he did not know many, but his partner and best friend Officer Judy Hopps. As he went to lay his head on the dashboard of the cop car, the vehicle screeched to a stop. His head hit the window and he wailed in pain.

"Carrots, how did you ever get your driver's license," he sneered. "Too bad I don't have enough authority yet. If I did I would revoke your license. Clawhauser would find it in one of his doughnuts and you would never see it again," Nick said while giving her a look of extreme frustration.

Judy replied innocently, "you looked like you were about to fall asleep in the middle of our investigation. And knowing you, you would kill yourself if you didn't get to see this."

Kill himself? Yes he would if he had committed such atrocities like murder said the voice in his head. The thought plagued his consciousness yet again.

What if I didn't switch the serum out with a blueberry? What if Bellwether shot me with the serum and I went savage? What if I mauled Judy to bits and killed her? How would I live with myself knowing that I killed a mammal? Even worse, my best friend.

He loved her attitude. Her naivety and positivity about everything. It just gave him so much joy. There's that word again, love. The word he used most to describe her, though he wasn't quite sure what it meant. Did he love her as a friend, a companion, or just someone who he could mess with. Whatever the case, he enjoyed being with her.

Judy jumped out of the car not before giving Nick a small wink. "Come on let's go. The bear we're going after has a violent record. There's no telling what he'll do now that he escaped." Her feet slapped the pavement as she started running to the scene. 

She stopped and turn to hear Nick's voice.

His ears raised up in confusion, "I thought you said this was a bank robbery."

She groaned in frustration, "Were you paying any attention during the briefing I was giving you in the car?"

He pretended to think before answering the obvious question. "Um, no. Anyways I zoned out when you were telling me the importance of this case. Actually, once you said convict five times in the same sentence, I jumped the ship." Nick chided trying to annoy her while laughing. Anything to keep his mind off the thought.

The two ran down the street as Judy playfully punched him.

"Why was it because you were dreamily staring at me," she mocked with air quotes.

"Actually, that was spot on," he teased. “Except, I was regretting my choice to work with you.” Sometimes you're just so annoying. I hope your 200 siblings aren't like this. Or is it from the lack of attention as a child..."

Before Nick knew what was happening, Judy cuffed his paw to a street sign and ran away laughing.

She looked at his priceless reaction, complete disbelief. The rabbit dangled the keys in the air as she ran to stop the criminal.

"You dumb fox."

Nick started pulling with his free arm, trying to break free.

He shouted in return, "Sly bunny."

Realizing in defeat that there was nothing to do about his situation, he grabbed his cuffed wrist and slowly pushed the handcuffs to the ground, allowing him to sit on the cement. In typical fashion, the fox straightened out his tie with one paw and watched his partner run down the street. He admired her graceful movements. She bounced from one lamp post to another until she had caught up with her perp.

He so desperately wished that he could be as good of a cop that Judy was. She knew all the police codes and laws while he struggled to keep focus on the task in front of him. The jobs and cons he used to pull off were surprisingly much simpler. All he and Finnick had to do was make and sell pawpsicles. How difficult was that?

The sound of police sirens in the distance brought him back to earth. Their red and blue sirens lulled him to sleep but gave him a headache too.

Carefully, he craned his neck to see the cop cars drive by, without injuring his wrist. A few blocks down the road, he could barely make out the outline of Judy and the others shoving the bear into a car.

In a way he wished that he could have helped with the capture. The adrenaline rush of the chase, the warmth of running alongside his partner, and the credit of accomplishing something big. More importantly, the feeling that justice was achieved and that he was contributing to the effort to make Zootopia a better place today and for the next generation.

However, everything he tried to do had always backfired on him. From the day he tried to join the scouts to his previous jobs and the police force, he always somehow managed to mess things up. Maybe it would be better if he was cuffed here, on the side of the road.

Watching this go down is like watching a crime show, but in real life. He thought to himself as a smile crept onto his face instantly lifting his crestfallen mood.

"Hey prisoner, are you trying to hitchhike or did you surrender to an animal half your size?" Judy said running to Nick. She felt just a bit guilty for leaving her trainee partner locked to the street sign. His problem though, she thought, is that he has no sense of discipline. That's what Chief wants me to teach him.

Forgetting where he was, the fox jumped up only to be pulled back down by the cuffs. His carelessness left him sprawled over the curb on his back. Judy toyed with the keys and put her hands on her hips. She bit the inside of her lip to avoid laughing at the sad, pathetic sight. He always was the one to mess with her, but now it was her chance to revenge him. Judy wasn’t going to miss such an opportunity. With a grimace, he looked up into her eyes and read her mind.

"Alright, alright. What do I have to do, to get you to let poor old me go," Nick said while flashing his white teeth.

Judy gave him a mischievous smile, realizing all the power she had. She could get him to do so many things for her. However the guilt factor was setting in as Nick winced, obviously in pain. In the corner of her eye, she saw his wrist at an odd angle, mildly dislocated. On the other paw, she thought, Let me savor this moment when I finally beat him. It's time he learns who's in charge here.

"Hmmm," She whispered, pretending to think long and hard. "Well I am quite hungry…."

"Carrots, let me stop you right there."

She folded her small arms and gave the fox a death stare like none other.

"Officer?"

"No."

"Cottontail?"

"Definitely not."

"Judith."

"Getting there."

"Judy!" He exclaimed, looking overly proud of himself. "So I can't call you carrots anymore? Hmm, that's a real disappointment, because that’s what I know you by." A smug smile covered his muzzle.

Judy bent down to the imprisoned and helpless animal, "You're really not helping your case right now Nick."

He sighed in defeat, annoyed that he had somehow lost, but a plan formulated in his mind. "You win. Why don't we meet at a restaurant, sit down and have dinner. I'll pay if that makes your little bunny mind happy. Though now that I think about it, I'm not sure if they serve carrots," he said sarcastically.

"Nicholas Wilde," Judy questioned, with a smile.

"Ugh I haven't heard that name in years."

"Nick..." she started again, slightly annoyed, "are you asking me on a date?"

He winced again while pushing against the pole trying to relocate the joint. A loud pop resonated in his ears as Judy felt another wave of guilt pass over her.

"There we go, alright…. It depends on your interpretation of the offer. We could be going on a date, or we could just be celebrating the bust at a restaurant. I'll let you decide," he smirked.

"Deal?" Nick asked as he stretched out his arm.

Judy sat on the ground and noticed his discomfort. "Deal."

They shook on it. Judy pulled out the keys and unlocked the crippled fox and pulled him up. Much to her surprise, he was pretty light. Together they got into the squad car as Nick stretched and cracked his back the whole way home.


	2. Time

**Chapter 2:** Time

 

Judy and Nick walked paw in paw down the boardwalk under the full moon. The breeze was blowing gently at their fur and the temperature could not have been any more perfect.  Fireflies were blinking and the mammals around them were chattering, but in their minds, it sounded like white noise at a coffee shop.    
  
"Well that was a horrible way to celebrate you promotion," Nick said while yawning and flashing his white teeth.  "The food was disgusting, and you looked absolutely repulsive." He teased while wrapping his arm around her thin shoulders.    
  
She punched him playfully on the shoulder, "says the one who ate your own entire meal and most of mine.  And for the record, YOU chose my dress."  
  
"I cannot deny that," he said while heading towards a bench and patting his stomach.  
  
The two sat down as Nick put one arm around the wood and the other around her small shoulders.  He crossed his legs and stared out at the horizon.  She quietly and slowly placed her head on his chest.  He watched the waves rise and craft against the beach. A continuous motion that ticked like a clock that would repeat until the end of time.    
  
After their two years of dating, they had learned to ignore the subtle head shakes from their peers.  Every time they were seen in public, they received signs of complete disapproval.  Nick, never let it show that other mammals were getting to him.  From his past life, he learned to mute unimportant things out.  But Judy however, never seemed to get over the prejudice.  Her heart dropped and eyes watered on every date because some couldn't seem to let it go.    
  
_Is it really that awful for a rabbit to be with a fox,_ she thought _.  Why do they care anyways, it's not their problem._

* * *

 _Nick looked down to see what the bunny was doing.  Judy was on the tips of her toes, staring straight at him._ _  
_ _  
_ _He pretended to ignore her, though he completely knew what she was looking for._ _  
_ _  
_ _"What a nice view I have up here.  I can see the ice cream shop and even the police station.  Hey, Carrots what can you see from down there besides the ground?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Judy started to walk away giggling, "I'm so done with you Wilde. By the way I have a great view of the soda you spilled over your sleeve yesterday."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Nick completely ignored her snide comment and picked the bunny up while kissing her.  Her large feet dangled well above the ground.  Together they spun in a circle laughing and enjoying an intimate moment until she felt something painful hit the back of her neck.  She broke away from the fox’s face and turned around to see a small, angry group of animals standing behind them._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Nick I think you should turn arou....." She whispered.  Judy felt herself being forcefully dropped as he stepped out in front of her, protecting her small frame from the incoming rocks._ _  
_ _  
_ _Insults after insults were being thrown at the dumbstruck couple._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Go find yourself a sly fox of your own kind!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"I don't want your hybrid monsters playing with my kids!" a coyote yelled._ _  
_ _  
_ _"You disgust me!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Nick was horrified at the situation they were in.  How can animals be so ruthless?_ _  
_ _  
_ _Judy suddenly felt a large body fall to the ground, nearly crushing her.  To her horror, Nick had been violently hit in the temple by a rock and was out.  She got to action and put her body over the back of his head, protecting him from anymore stones.  She swiftly pulled out her concealed weapon and fired blanks into the air, scaring off their attackers._

* * *

Something still bothered her besides the obvious atrocities that occurred.  

  
Nick noticed a change in mood on her face. "What's wrong Carrots, you look like you've seen a ghost."  
  
"Some animals are just truly horrible. Why is it that being slightly different and following your heart is so wrong in the minds of others?"  
  
A melancholy smile spread across his face.  “You know Carrots, there’s only so much you can do.  If they don’t like this then who cares.  Block them out and never let them know they left a mark on you.”  

He put his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes, trying to change the subject. "Let me get this straight.  So now that you’re a detective, does this mean you can cuff both of my paws to the street sign instead of just one?  If so, I can't wait for EVEN MORE humiliation."  
  
Judy smiled. "Are you still upset about that?  You foxes really don't let things go, huh?"  
  
He gave her an annoyed look. "We have minds of steel. And nerves too."  
  
"Really, is that right."  She put a finger under his chin, forcing his face towards her own.  She continued with a smug tone in her voice.  "Last time I checked you were scared of my siblings when we visited my family."  
  
"The truth is," he said with wild paw movements, " I find rabbits very un intimidating, ow please don't."  
  
Judy laughed as Nick winced expecting a punch that never came.  "Continue on about how scary bunnies are."  
  
Nick felt his cheeks turn red as he realized that he was bested yet again by the bunny.  Luckily, it was completely unnoticeable due to his coloring.    
  
"Nope," he responded.  
  
"Why not!  I'm sorry," Judy half heartedly said.    
  
Nick stuck his paw out a few inches in front of her nose, signaling the silent treatment.    
  
Immediately Judy stood up and pouted.  "So... Are we acting like 7 year old girls again or what?"  
  
Nick crossed his arms as if to say, I need something in return.  
  
Her ears straightened up as she read his mind.  As she approached, Judy pulled him close to her with his tie.  She held on as she rested her nose on his.    
  
"Fine," she whispered. Judy kissed him on the cheek. He felt a warmth spread through his chest when a thought came too his mind. Nick suddenly felt the clock strike midnight.  
  
Everything about her made him so happy.  She was the one who looked past the stereotypes and brought out the best in himself.  Without Judy, he probably would have never lived life to its full potential. _Honestly_ , he thought, _I would have met her behind bars, or she would have been fired._  
  
The truth is that they needed each other.  Judy needed him as an anchor. Sometimes she flew so high that she forgot about the danger of doing so.  However Nick needed her to inspire him and cheer him up.  She was the one who made him realize that her wasn’t just a fox, that he had an interior he never saw,  
  
They were the yin and yang.  In perfect harmony, Nick being the dark and Judy being the light. They were able to counterbalance each other.   Anyways, it wasn’t like he was getting any younger...  
  
"Recently, I had a moment, and I realized something important," he said staring deeply into her eyes.    
  
"Oh really, I haven't ever heard you say something intellectual like this before," she said with a smile.  “And can I ask what kind of moment?”  
  
"Well m'lady," he continued, "time will always keep on ticking no matter what goes on.  It doesn't wait for anyone.  Which got me thinking, I need to become the best I can be so I can soar," he pointed to the sky.    
  
Judy froze as she realized where he was going.  
  
Nick started to kneel down on the ground getting to her eye level.  "Contrary to my previous beliefs I am only half the fox I can be.  But you seem to complete me."  
  
"Judith Hopps," he gave her his signature smirk.  The pause felt like a lifetime and Judy couldn't take it.  Her eyes watered and she started bouncing on her foot pads.  

Nick smiled, giddy with excitement.  This was the moment he never knew would happen.  He had always thought he would be perfecting scams alone until old age.  Never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d be asking a bunny to marry him.  He had given it some thought years and years ago, but he assumed he’d fall for a vixen.  Definitely not a do-good rabbit like Judy. But the truth was that she was all he ever needed in a friend.  No, she was more than everything.  Life writes itself, and is full of surprises.  Bunny-sized surprises.  So he just sat under the light, enjoying his own story take a new turn, and start a new chapter.  It would no longer be the story of Nicholas Wilde, no definitely not.  Now, it will be titled Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.  And that would be for the better.  
  
"Yes, yes Nick of course!  Of course I'll marry you!" She screamed in surprise hugging him to the point where the wind was knocked out of his lungs.    
  
A look of dismay covered his face as he fidgeted for something in his pocket.    
  
"Oh no Judy, this is not what I meant," he said feigning embarrassment.    
  
Judy covered her face with her paws in shame.  "I'm so sorry, I just thought... I thought…" She looked at the position he was in, kneeling with a paw out.  How could he not be proposing?  
  
The fox pulled a small diamond ring from his pocket and teared up, much to his own surprise.  "Will you marry me?"  
  
Judy pulled the small carrot pen out of her jacket and played his proposal out loud over again.  As much as she wanted to kill him for faking, there was no hiding the pure joy in her heart.  Her parents had been pestering her for years, setting her up with an unbelieveable amount of bunnies.  From neighbors, to family friends, to random rabbits on the street.  But even though she was late in the game, as marriage most commonly took place in the early 20s, she had found love in the most uncommon of places.  In a fox.  She pushed the random emotions aside and leaped into his arms.  
  
"Yes!"  
  
That night, the stars seemed to seamlessly line up as their lips finally met.  The couple even managed to miss the shocked bystanders who shook their heads in confusion.

 


	3. Tying the Knot

**Chapter 3:** Tying the Knot (pt 1)

  
Judy stared at the small mirror in her old bedroom.  More specifically, she looked in awe at her own reflection.  It was the first time she had ever felt like an adult.  Her whole life and everything in it was done for herself.  She wanted to become a cop, to achieve her dreams.  She realized that it was time to share dreams and challenges with someone else.  After all, Nick gave her something that wasn't found in any other mammal.  Or even in herself.  His sense of humor lifted her spirits no matter what had happened.  Often, he would even joke about hosting his own comedy show.     
  
"Judy, here's your veil," one of her sisters said.  Isabelle took the floral rimmed veil and gently placed it on the soon to be brides head.  Judy's ears hung down her back, and framing her face.  She pulled the mesh of the veil over her face in the traditional manner.  Judy flattened out the bottom of her dress and slipped on her heels.  After all, she needed extra height to catch up to Nick.  He was over a foot taller than herself...   
  
Judy braced herself and slowly opened the door to the hallway.   Her bridesmaids, who happened to be a few of her closest sisters, went silent as soon as the door squeaked open.  They turned around in awe.     
  
"Judy you look beautiful!"  They all said at once.     
  
"Aww thanks guys!" She replied, while holding the back of the untied dress, blushing.     
  
"Please spin for us," her younger sister asked.   
  
Judy spun, her dress flying above the ground.  Rays of light reflected off the jewels along the waist.  A smile instantly took over her face as her mother entered the room.      
  
"Oh Judy my baby, you're so grown up and gorgeous," Bonnie said, pushing the veil mesh away from her daughter’s face.  "How are you feeling?"   
  
Judy giggled, "I'm so excited that I'm nervous!"   
  
"Judy, you know how happy I am for you, but you know what you're doing, right?" she said nervously.  "I mean you're marrying a fox, and no bunny I've ever known has done that.  Actually now that I think about it I don't know of any inter-species couples.  I just don't know what others will think and I don't want you to get hurt again," she whispered.    
  
She pulled Judy into an embrace.  "I just want you to be happy.  It's a mother's job."   
  
She smiled and sighed at her mother's discomfort.  "As a child you always told me to follow my heart and do I wanted.  I let my heart guide me and this is where it led me.  Nick and I are aware of the prejudice but others don't matter.  Anyways, who cares if we are the first.  Remember I rocked being the first bunny cop."   
  
Bonnie felt incredibly guilty.  "I'm so sorry Judy ... I ... I shouldn't be saying this on your wedding day.  It's just that I love you so much and am so happy to see you grow up.  Remember in always there for you."   
  
"Don't worry mom," Judy said with a smile, hiding her frustration, "this will be a day to remember for everyone.  I want to prove a point that anyone can love whoever they want.  And, I have this," she said patting her leg where her concealed weapon was hidden.     
  
Judy planted a kiss on her mother’s cheek before she went off to take a seat.     
  
_I will be the first one_ , she said to herself, smiling.   
  
Suddenly, Judy remembered something. “Where are my flower girls?”  She smiled as she welcomed the stress of wedding preparation.  Twenty pink clad bunnies bounded up the stairs.  Isabelle handed out fresh rose petals from the family garden.  She put them in their tiny baskets and watched their faces light up.

* * *

 “Well, I can finally say that this is a day I never saw coming,” Finnick said with a half-smile.   
  
Nick leaned his head down to put on his tie.  “Hm, why do you say that?”   
  
“When we were partners, you seemed way too free-spirited to ever settle down.  Or even commit to any one thing, let alone anyone,” Finnick replied gruffly.   
  
“Two things,” Nick said.  “One, there are many things about myself that even I don’t know of yet.  Also, I'm pretty sure I was committed to the job with you.  You have to give me some credit buddy."   
  
Nick walked over to lay down on the miniature bed in the back of the room.  Judy really wanted to have the wedding on her family farm, in a way to repay her parents.  She had felt like she never was up to her parents standards.  She never wanted to work on the farm like all her family, she moved away to become an officer and even fell in love with a fox.  Judy was never the cookie cutter bunny her family wanted her to be.  The least they could do was have their wedding on the farm.  He fully agreed because the farm was absolutely beautiful.  Willow trees grew in the backyard around a lily pad filled pond.  He had never been to the rurals before his first visit with Judy's family where he instantly fell in love with the world.  The burrows gave him extra proof that there was beauty in the world, well Judy taught him that first.  

The only problem he had with her family’s home was the size.  Everything was smaller.  Well, the house itself was certainly not small.  It was huge considering it accommodated roughly 275 bunnies.  Just the furniture was small.  Nick paced back and forth in front of the window.    
  
Finnick, noticing the anxiety in Nick's expression, changed the subject.  "So, what are your plans after the wedding?  Are you going to settle down in the countryside?"   
  
Staring into the distance, Nick replied practically laughing,  "No way.  Judy adamantly said that she will resume work with the ZPD as normal.  I, not being the confrontational type, agreed or she would have strangled me.  So we’re going to buy an apartment somewhere in Zootopia, but we haven’t decided on the location yet."  He turned around, "I am going to continue working for the police because they're moving me to undercover operations.  Apparently I’m good at that, thanks to you."   
  
"Now you're really working with the fuzz!" Finnick exclaimed.  "Don't you even dare rat me out."   
  
"Never Finnick, your still my best friend, I'll always be by your side.   Don't get into any trouble though because I can't always break you out," he said with a smirk.     
  
The fennec fox jumped onto the window sill and stared Nick in the eyes.  "And I'll always be there for you, hey don't even think about it!" He said pushing away Nick's faux puckered lips.     
  
"But your daddy wants to give you a kiss. Oh you were adorable, when we used to scam everyone.  "   
  
Finnick swatted at Nick's arm and growled, "Call me cute again and you won’t be able to walk down that aisle in one piece."  He cautiously pointed his finger at the larger fox in an attempt to be menacing.     
  
Nick rolled his eyes and chuckled.  The fennec could be so funny sometimes.  He tried to look intimidating, but being so small and unthreatening made him seem ridiculous.  Also, Finnick's low rough voice killed him on the inside.     
  
"Fine, I'll shut up only if you stop punching me.   Between you and Judy, I get whacked so often that I have bruises up my arms.  I mean, If I were a mole," he continued while pretending to step on Finnick, "it would be more acceptable... eww moles are repulsive.  They're like slimy rodents...."     
  
A knock on the door shocked him out of his stupor.  An older jaguar priest stood in the doorframe.  "The ceremony will commence in 10 minutes," he said in an odd zootopian accent.     
  
The two foxes stood wide-eyed and motionless.  The door squeaked shut as they let out a sigh of relief.  They turned to each other as Nick pointed and said, "I thought there was going to be a mole at the door." 

* * *

Judy banged her head on the vanity and moaned.  The pressure was starting to get to her.   
  
"Careful Judy... Please don't bruise your face before the big day," Isabelle said nervously. She darted back and forth between the closet and the bride.  She grabbed a comb and started brushing down her fur.  The older rabbit looped the strings around the back of Judy's wedding dress around her fingers.  Slowly and meticulously she threaded the laces through the slots on the back of the dress.  She crossed them over as Judy gasped for air.   
  
"Is it too tight?" She said in her high feminine voice.   
  
"Can't... Breathe...."   
  
"Almost done, almost done.  Just give me a second...."   
  
Isabelle tied the laces in a dainty bow and gently patted her sister on the back.  "And, we're done!"

She stretched her back as her breath caught in her throat.  
Judy shot up from a sitting position and sent the chair flying across the room.  She grabbed Isabelle's shoulders and stared into her eyes.  "Something's going to happen," she yelled, hysteria visible in her eyes.     
  
The bride paced around the room before lying down on the bed.  She started breathing heavily as her small body started shaking.  Isabelle hopped over as fast as she could and tried to calm her down.   
  
"Judy calm down, it's okay.  Please don't have a panic attack before your wedding!"   
  
Judy put a paw to her heart and closed her eyes.  "Did the food come, what about the flowers?  Are the tables set?  IS NICK EVEN READY?  He's not punctual at all, tell Margo to make him hurry up!"   
  
The older bunny hugged her as hard as she could. "It's okay for the bride to be nervous before the ceremony.  I was too when I got married. Just take deep breaths, she whispered trying her best to help her shaking sister.  "I know It's very stressful but it's all under control.  All you have to do is enjoy it and try to remember everything that happens.  After all, it happens like a blur."   
  
Judy's eyes watered as she tried to hold back the tears.  The last thing she wanted to do was redo the make up.  "Isabelle, do you know what it's like to be hated and despised?  For following your heart?  Do you know how it is to be stared down and questioned every time you walk down the street.  I love Nick don't get me wrong, but how can we live together through the...?"   
  
"Judy let me stop you there.  Your rambling on and are wrong about one big thing.   _I_ believe in you. _I_ support your decisions even if they aren't popular.  Remember this," she clasped Judy's paws in between her own.  "It doesn't matter what any other mammal thinks.  It doesn't even matter what mom and dad think.  As long as you’re happy, _I_ am too.  And the whole family."   
  
Judy looked up and gathered the courage to smile.     
  
"Let's redo that make up shall we?"

* * *

 

Nick stood tall in front of the hundreds of guests.  He glanced at his watch, impatiently waiting to see how beautiful Judy looked walking down the aisle.  The ceremony itself was taking place in the back yard underneath a vine covered gazebo.  He stared in the distance, looking at the rolling hills and mountains.  The sun was shining brightly and there wasn't a cloud in sight.   _It's perfect.  Almost too perfect_ , he thought.   _Can anything be too perfect?_ He smiled at the thought.

He scanned across the sea of bunnies, looking for Judy.  She insisted on having her _entire_ family there.  Them alone accounted for the majority of the guests.  Actually, they were ninety percent of the guests.  Nick didn't have many friends or relatives.  His father died when he was too young to remember and he was never in touch with the rest.  He spotted his mother in the front beaming.  She was the most amazing animal in his life right next to Judy.  She raised him as a single impoverish mother, and deprived herself for him.  The only reason he started scamming was to earn more money to support and help her.  

Nick looked down at his watch realizing that Judy was already 5 minutes late.   _How unlike her, usually I'm the one who's always late._ The guests started muttering as 10 minutes passed, yet the ceremony hadn't started yet.  His heart rate quickened. _Did she bail?_  He started panicking at the thought that Judy may have ran away.   _Did she find someone else?  Did she get cold feet or is she not ready to make the commitment?_ He immediately closed his green eyes and shushed the panic inducing thoughts.  Nick couldn't help nervously wonder where she was.  

Suddenly, a car with tinted windows pulled up in front of the path.  Judy slowly exited the car as applause erupted from the audience. Nick let out a sigh of relief.  He felt lighter as weight was lifted from his slim shoulders. He watched as his bride slowly walked down the makeshift aisle.  The breeze blew the hem of her beautiful dress around.  He smiled, giddy with excitement as applause rose from the crowd.  

Something was very wrong though.   _Judy was never that tall._ He frowned, _and when did she have that birthmark on her paw._ He stared at the figure realizing that something was _very_ wrong.  He couldn't quite put a finger on it.  Luckily the wedding party had not yet noticed.  Nick's heart rate increased as he started panicking.  That was _not_ Judy.  The organ music was drowned out by the sound of his own heart racing.  The bunny moved _very_ slowly down the aisle, shaking violently.  Some animals started to notice something was awry.  As the figure approached, he started hearing sniffles and the sound of metal on metal.

 _What is happening?  Where is Judy? Who_ is _that?_ He thought as his anxiety and uneasiness increased drastically.  

The veiled rabbit approached Nick with rigid, robot like movements.  No grace at all like the Judy he knew.  The rabbit was sobbing uncontrollably.  He slowly walked down the rough stairs and precariously drew near the bunny.  Trying not to scare her, he slowly pulled the veil back.  He stared into the bright blue eyes of Isabelle.  Scratches littered her small face as tears fell.  Nick looked down, immediately noticed that her paws were chained together as well as her ankles.  

Fear stricken he yelled, “where's Judy?”

Isabelle cried even harder, trembling hysterically.   

Without skipping a beat, Nick turned around and pinned her against against the gazebo wall.  He looked into her tear stained eyes and calmly asked,  “Where… Is … Judy?”

The audience gasped, not only because Judy was missing but because of Nick’s violent actions.  Bonnie shrieked, as she saw Nick enraged at Isabelle. It reminded her of the time when Gideon had attacked Judy.  She never wanted that to happen again to her baby, but now was she marrying a violent animal?  

Realizing what he was doing, he let go of the hysterical bunny.  He dropped her to the grass with more force than he intended.  He started tugging at the restraints that bound her feeble paws and ankles.  Much to his dismay, they wouldn't budge.  He pulled the bouquet of callalilies out from in between Isabelle's paws and chains, trying to create more space to wedge her paws out.  

It was complete chaos.  Confusion and panic consumed everyone.  

Nick dropped what he was doing and cocked his head to the side, his ears shooting up.  The air seemed to shift again, this time, he could sense danger.  His original animal instincts seemed to kick in as he felt like something was at stake.  Like he had to save someone.  He started running down the aisle to the house as if he was being dragged there.  Nick froze in place, trapped in time, when he heard a loud _bang_.  A shudder ran through his small frame.  It was a sound he recognized even though he had never heard it before.  Nick became dizzy as the world spun violently around him.  He was able to hear the rapid rise and fall of his own chest.  Everyone had turned around in shock to find the source of the sound.  All they saw was a desperate fox running as if his life depended on it.

* * *

Panic-stricken Nick ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the house.  His heart raced, and his lungs burned from both the panic and sheer terror.   _Judy could be hurt._ He cried.   _Or she could be dead…_  

“NO,” he screamed as he tripped and fell.  Hysterically, he picked himself up and kept sprinting.  The front door approached in his view.  He clutched his chest as he tripped yet again.  His suit was torn and ripped everywhere, but it didn't matter to him.  Not even the least bit because his problems and pain weren't the real issue.  Judy's life was at stake and he was willing to risk minor injury for her.  

Nick ran through the fields, tripping and getting back up again.  He was barely able to stand on his own two feet.  He threw open the front door and scampered up the stairs.  He looked down the hallway and saw Judy's old room.  Without skipping a beat, he slammed right into it, knocking the door off its hinges.  Looking closely, an outline of a fox could be seen in the door, his struggles and fear forever encased in wood.

What lay in front of him was a sight he would never be able to unsee.  The small room was destroyed, the walls were covered in scratch marks.  Furniture was knocked over and smashed.  And in the center of it all was a large puddle of blood.  Blood as fresh as the fruit on the farm.  

Nick finally came to his senses and realized what had happened.  The one animal he loved with all his heart was gone.  All that was left of her was a blood soaked wedding dress and torn veil.  He fell to his knees in the center of the room and stared in shock.  He howled and wailed and lay down in the large puddle of blood, trying to recapture as much of Judy as he could.  But she wasn't there.  She was gone.  The only animal who had ever believed he was more than a just a fox was gone.  And never to be seen again.

 


	4. The Misunderstanding

**Chapter 4:** **The Misunderstanding**

  
After what felt like an eternity, the thunderous sound of footsteps echoed through the silent house.  The police force ran up the stairs and into the room, barely fitting through the tiny door frame.  Most of the team had to wait outside for orders since they were too large for the bunny sized house.  Their first glimpse of the situation was a bloodied fox lying in the room's center.  Bogo led in the cavalry, peeking around the corner with his gun.  He swung it around a few times, and finding no danger, stepped inside.     
  
"Clear!" He shouted ushering in his force.  A few members from the team ran inside and assessed the situation while the others waited in the cramped hallway.     
  
Chief Bogo assessed the situation for himself, ready to send out the team. A bloodied fox lay in the center of the room in a ripped suit.  His eyes were shut and its body looked lifeless.  Large scratches littered the room, stretching from the floor to ceiling.  The size indicated they were made by a larger animal, bigger than the fox.  He surveyed the scene and saw a broken mirror on a vanity.  The glass shards were scattered across the room and refracted light on the walls.  The room had a bright but ominous look to it, making the buffalo feel uncomfortable.   A shiver went down his spine causing him to have a brief spasm.     
  
"Everything alright sir?" officer Flanden asked noticing his change in body language.     
  
"I'm fine," Bogo replied, annoyed that he was coming across as troubled.     
  
He picked up his police radio from his belt.  The animal needed medical attention immediately.  "I need the EMT's in here straight  away!  SWAT, check the perimeters and look for any suspicious activity.  I swear to god if you miss even an inch of this farm you will regret it," he yelled to his officers.     
  
He looked a little closer at the body on the floor.  His mouth dropped open as he recognized it.  It was no ordinary fox.  No no no definitely not any ordinary fox.  It was Wilde.  The one officer who sometimes, always, drove him crazy.     
  
"We have an officer down!  I repeat officer down!  WHERE ARE MY EMT'S!"  He yelled to dispatch.     
  
Immediately remembering police code, he shouted one last time before the med staff came in, "make sure the civilians are safe and out of danger first before we check on our own.  I repeat, protect the civilians first!"   
  
That was always the rule he despised the most.  Though in the law, civilians always had to be taken care of first, he had a true connection with his officers.  Together they were making to world a better place, and leaving them behind was always the toughest.  He gave Nick one more look and ushered the EMT's in.  Thought the fox usually made him rip his horns out because of his sarcasm and smart-ass attitude, he felt quite sorry for him.     
  
The officers ran out of the house and into the fields, guns drawn as the medical crew ran in.  The team was comprised of slightly smaller animals so they could fit comfortably in the house.  They threw on latex gloves to avoid getting his blood on them.  They dragged Nick out from the room and gently placed him on a stretcher.  The fox’s heart and breathing were checked.  Much to their surprise, it was fine, not usual for a gun shot victim.  They flipped him over to look for the open wound when a pair of green eyes shot open.   
  
"Where is she?"   
  
Nick was alarmed.  He stood up, leaving the meds in awe, and sprinted across the room.  He peeked around the door frame and spotted Bogo.     
  
"Have you found her yet?" Nick asked with a slight rasp to his voice.  He waited impatiently for an answer. His leg was shaking, an old nervous habit.     
  
The chief looked down at the small, bloodied fox in confusion.  "Wilde, so you're okay?  Where were you shot?"  He asked.   
  
Nick cocked his head to the side.  "Of course I'm fine, but she isn't," he said. His voice cracked as he thought of Judy.  Every time he thought of her, the only image that came to mind was the blood soaked ball gown and scratches across the walls.     
  
"Wilde, who are we talking about?"  The chief asked as relayed the info across the walkie talkies.    
  
Nick started panicking.  "Judy.  She was kidnapped and shot.  Wait..."  He paused, visibly annoyed and worried.  The entire situation was a mess, and he was losing his mind and sanity by the second.   
  
"Are you telling me you don't know where she is?"  He raised his voice, "Have you not been looking for her?"  He shouted in distress.   
  
"Where are the forensics, who's searching for her?  What have you been doing?”     
  
In an unexplained rage, Nick charged Bogo, but was immediately stopped.  The buffalo snapped causing two officers to rush in and stop the spooked fox.  Nick struggled against the much larger animals, trying to free himself but to no avail.  One of the officers, a rhino, pushed him against the door and forced his paws behind his back.  Nick stomped his foot on the rhino's ankle in return.  The officer dropped him and howled in pain.  The fox slid underneath the arms of Bogo as he tried to grab him.  He fell down the stairs and ran past Judy's hysterical parents.  He ran out the ajar front door and into the yard.     
  
"Carrots!" He called as Bogo quickly approached.     
  
"Judy!" He wailed. "I'm so sorry, I've messed up this time.  This is all my fault!"  The upset fox yelled.  Shame and guilt wracked his mind.  He was supposed to always be by her side.  He was always supposed to protect her.  That’s what partners do.   
  
_ If only I was there for her, if I didn't leave her alone and protected her, this wouldn't have happened _ , he thought.     
  
Bogo, suddenly hearing Nick's guilty cries, called in the force who immediately surrounded him.      
  
Nick stood in the center of the police ring.  They all drew their guns and pointed the barrels right at him.  His eyes grew wide as he realized what was happening.     
  
"No, no this is all wrong," he said while falling to the ground.  He started inching backwards to the wall of the house.  The force followed Nick and cornered him.  Summoning the last of his energy in Judy's name, he stood up and looked at his allies who had turned against him.  He bent over and ran, trying to slide between the legs of Bogo.     
  
Suddenly, he felt a blow to the back of his knees as he crashed to the ground.  A large foot was pressed against his back, holding him firmly down.  Nick squirmed in a failed attempt to free himself as his thin arms were pinned to the ground.  Another officer wrenched his arms behind his back and cuffed his paws together.   Nick wailed in pain as his wrist popped.  His face was smashed against the ground causing him to suddenly cease moving.     
  
He flashed back to his childhood when he was muzzled by his own peers.  Nick understood how similar his predicament was to his memory and stopped squirming and cooperated.  The last thing he wanted besides losing his fiancée on his wedding was to be muzzled.     
  
The fox was forcefully picked up and walked to a police car.  An officer held onto his cuffed paws to prevent him from running.  Nick hung his head, embarrassed at the situation he was in.  Judy's entire family stared him down with loathing eyes.  He could tell that wanted him dead.  Yet again he was falsely convicted and accused.  Even if he was declared innocent, they would never be able to look at him the same just because of this image they'll have in mind.     
  
Why do bad things always takes place in memory before all the good?   
  
Nick was pushed into the back of the cap car as he looked out at the beauty of the farm.  It would forever be marked by sin and horror.  What a waste, that one tragedy can overpower all the good there is.     
  
_ In a way _ , he thought, i _ t's horrifyingly beautiful.    _   
  
The door slammed and he stared at the bars, forever imprisoned in his own shame and fear _. _


	5. Empty

**Chapter 5: Empty**

  
The panicked fox was led into a holding cell to wait for his fate.  He paced back and forth trying to walk off the anxiety.  It was like a monster, constantly ripping at both his mind and his heart.  Nick silently watched the clock tick.  Hour after hour went by, each one slower than the last.  It was torture, the wedding replaying over and over again in his head, looking for any clues as to where Judy went.  And then the image of her ripped and bloodied wedding dress.  It was the only thing he could see.  Getting his mind off it was close to impossible as fear slowly and painfully consumed his heart.  Deep down inside, Nick knew that she was out there.   Judy was tough as hell, she could withstand anything, mentally .  Physically, she was not to be messed with but considering that the majority of the population was bigger and stronger, he had reason to be worried.  Her small fragile frame emphasized the point.  He smiled as he remembered all the times she would playfully punch him.  All their arguments usually started with Nick messing with Judy.  And it always ended with a punch from her.  As soon as the sun came, it left even quicker.  Nick opened his eyes to the reality of the world he was in.  Alone. Confused.  Afraid.  The only thing that kept him down to earth was the slow and rhythmic ticking of the clock.  It soothed him in weird sort of way.     
  
The metal door of the holding cell slammed open as Bogo and another officer, McHorn walked in.  The fox jumped out of his stupor and started to massage his wrists.   It wasn’t that they hurt any more from the cuffs, he just wanted to make a point.  He was infuriated by the way he was treated by the police department.  Animals he thought were his friends had turned against him so suddenly.  The betrayal only added to the immense pain he was already feeling.  That was all he managed to feel.  Pain.      
  
"Alright Wilde, your alibi checks out,” Bogo said, reading the file he was holding.  He raised his eyes from the document and saw the back of the fox.  

Nick stopped pacing and stood still, refusing to turn towards the chief. He was stubborn in that way, his opinions had to be made _very_ clear.

Bogo rolled his eyes and flipped through the files he was handed earlier.  One caught his eye, but just as he was about to look at it the fox pipped up.  

“Of course my alibi checks out, Judy’s entire family saw me in the process of getting married.  When did you think I had time to run back to the house and kidnap her?  That’s not even possible.”

Bogo was about to respond until Nick silenced him, just like he did a few years back when sticking up for Judy.  “Was this really necessary?” Nick asked sarcastically.  “I mean, did you really have to attack me?”  He faced the Chief with crossed arms.  

“We didn’t attack you Wilde,” he said annoyed.  

“Sure, just remember that next time _you_ get manhandled,” Nick sneered, still facing the wall.  

“I only do what the law tells me to do, I don't let personal affairs get in the way.”

Nick turned around, leaning on one leg and massaging his wrist.  He gave the chief an unsatisfied look.  

The buffalo sighed, “Look, Wilde, I'm really sorry about this whole situation.  We had slight reason to believe you may have been involved, and then you decided to lose your goddamn mind.  What did I tell you about controlling your anger?”

Nick turned around slowly, his entire body still sore from being violently held down.  “I mean I may be exaggerating, but did you really need to arrest me in my wedding day? Right after Judy was taken to who God knows where?  Oh and wait!  There's more!  I was beaten down in front of Judy’s entire family who consists mainly of young children by the way.  And all two hundred or so of her family all hate me now.”

Bogo stood in disbelief at Nicks rant.  He started to feel guilty.  He was only trying to uphold the law.  As with many great officers, they tend to forget about the feelings of many on the road to justice.  Sometimes they can be too rough.  But it was all for the right reason.  Justice.

Nick continued, “You put a bad image of me in their minds.  They probably won't ever think of me as Judy's ‘fun’ friend anymore,” he said with air quotes, “I'll just be remembered as the fox that attacked and mauled her,” he said with wild arm movements.  “Which mind you, is completely untrue.”

“Oh and one last thing,” Nick said, slightly out of breath, “Thanks for putting that predator stereotype back into everyone’s heads right after Judy dedicated her life to eradicating it.  Wait…” He paused.  “Was I arrested because I was a predator?”

He gave a half-hearted laugh and stared at Bogo.

The buffalo took a step back, literally.  Now he was being accused of something he didn’t do.   _Isn’t it funny,_ he thought, _the paradox of being the officer of the law._

“Wilde you're being completely irrational.  We arrested you because there was reason to believe you may have had some connection with Hopps’ disappearance.  We have to inspect every lead no matter how small.”  Bogo looked down at his clipboard.  “You should know this yourself.”

In the stack, one page’s corner was sticking out the slightest bit and caught his attention.  He pulled it out ever so slowly, trying not to crumple it.  He glanced down at the first few words and gasped.  His eyes grew large as he realized what it said.  

Nick scoffed at Bogo.  “Okay so now you're feeling bad for me?  Where was that 4 hours ago when you shoved me to the ground?”

Bogo nervously tapped his foot, waiting for Nick to finish his rant.  He never liked giving any one news, positive or not.  Though he came across as tough and harsh, Bogo was actually soft on the inside.  Talking, in general, was not his strong point.

“Nick, why don’t you come sit down for a moment,” he said panicked.

The fox, stared at him, confused as to why he was being referred to by his first name, not Wilde.  He could tell that Bogo was hiding something.  Something big.  He pulled the dusty chair back from the interrogation room desk and sat down.  He looked the buffalo in the eye and asked, “Do you have any leads?”

Bogo shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  He read the forensic report over and over again while Nick stared at him with utter confusion.  

“Right now, i’m going to talk to you as a friend, not a superior,” he started, waiting for the fox’s response.  

Nick said nothing, no sarcastic comment, no joke.  Just silence and the ticking of the clock.

Bogo continued anyways, trying to keep himself together.  

“I know a lot has happened and you must be really stressed, but, ah screw it,” he stood up and slammed the reports on the desk.  He was not a psychologist and definitely was not good at dealing with emotions.  He towered over the small fox and told him bluntly, no filter, no hiding.

“I’m so sorry Nick, but based on the forensic reports and the amount of blood found in the room, there’s no way Judy could have survived,” Bogo said painfully.

The broken-hearted fox let out a whimper before going completely silent.  His eyes glazed over as he suddenly became detached from the world.  Bogo stared at his fellow officer.  Though Nick may have been the biggest pain in the ass, he felt horrible.  Every day, he showed up for work and brightened the mood with his sarcasm and jokes.  But now there was nothing.  No response or sign of acknowledgement.  His body seemed empty and lifeless.

Today, they had lost their finest cop.  Though she may have been misjudged from the get go, her positivity made Zootopia a better place.  For everyone.  Including himself.  He slowly exited the room and left Nick to tend to his own feelings.  And what made the chief even more upset, was that they may have emotionally lost a second one too.  He knew from experience what it was like to lose a partner.  Bogo glanced at the frame on the wall before walking away.

But there were no feelings.  There wasn’t even a Nick anymore.  Just a fox without a soul.  Without a heart.  He stared at the cracks in the wall, watching them snake in different patterns.  The one large crack split up into smaller ones and tiny lines branched off of those.  It looked like an upside down tree.  A tree where the roots and soil were on top and the clouds were underneath.  The world was flipped upside down.  Only one thought entered his shattered mind, _hell is on the surface and heaven is underground._ He turned and stared loathingly at the still ticking clock.  

The next thing Nick knew, he was lying on his bed in his apartment.  Empty beer bottles were thrown around the room.  As he went to sit up and inspect the situation, a horrible pain blasted through his head.  He lay back down again and looked for Judy.  He wanted that familiar warmth again.  He just wanted to hug her, but she wasn’t there.  Nick wanted her spirit, her positivity, her can-do attitude, but it wasn’t there.  Judy wasn’t there.  She wasn’t anywhere.  She would never come back.  He looked down at himself and saw that he was wearing a suit.  All of a sudden, he remembered what had happened.  It all came barreling back at him.  The wind was sucked out of his hollow chest.  Nick stared blankly at his phone and saw missed call upon missed call from the ZPD and Finnick.  He stared down at his phone as a small pool of water was forming on the screen.  He just stared in awe as the light flickered over and over again as more tears gathered.  The water seeped into the device causing it to break.  The phone flickered once more before dying.  

Nick realized that he was crying.  He had never cried since the day his father passed and the ranger scout incident.  He held his face in his paws and let it all out.  Every last feeling, emotion, and tear was released.  The broken fox wailed and howled in pain.  The agony was unbearable.  It was if someone had ripped his still beating out of his chest and he was still managing to live.  He was alive, but just barely. 

He drifted in and out of sleep for the next few days, ignoring his phone calls and drinking away his sadness.  After all, no one was allowed to see his emotions, so he got rid of it in the only introverted way he knew.  

* * *

_In an undisclosed location:_

_Two amethyst eyes opened to darkness and pain.  All she could see were her own two feet.  She tried to call out but her voice wasn’t working._

_“Nick! Where are you?”  She screamed in her head._

_There was no answer._

_Her powerful ears could hear the shuffle of someone in the darkness.  They approached, slowly and cautiously.  The bunny looked down at her body.  Surprisingly, her fur was no longer a silvery grey anymore, but a sickly crismon.  She caught another movement in the shadows.  The figure moved closer and she started to panick.  She tried to stand up, to run, but fell down immediately.  A burning pain shot through her waist.  She used her other paw to touch it and winced at the sight of blood._

_“Oh good, you’ve woken up,” a cruel voice stated.  Judy froze.  Using her other arm, she slowly reached down to her leg, looking for the gun she hid._

_The animal, noticing her movement laughed sadistically.  She waved the gun in the air._

_“Looking for this?”  They pointed the barrel at the cowering bunny’s face._

_Instinctively, she screamed._

_“Scream once more and you’ll never scream again,” They said as the bullet clicked into place._

* * *

 

Nick shot up from his bed and found himself sticky with sweat and screaming.  A loud crash resonated throughout the apartment as multiple officers kicked down his door.  

Yet again, the emotionally injured fox found himself at Bogo’s desk yet again.  He clutched his aching head and covered his face with his paws.

The Chief stood in front of him with a disapproving look on his face.  He looked at Nick’s hungover body and tearstained cheeks and yelled.

“Really Wilde, this is unacceptable.  For 4 days you answered none of our calls.  We thought you were dead.”

Nick sat slumped in the oversized chair.  It looked like he was being consumed by the inanimate object.  

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“What was that?” Bogo asked rhetorically.  His patience was diminishing rapidly.  

“Wilde, you were considered a missing mammal, and due to your condition, you were top priority.  We wasted a lot of department resources on you!”  Bogo yelled.

He was too exhausted to even defend himself or say anything.  Though he hated how insensitive the chief was being, he remained silent.

“One more thing,” the buffalo started, “because of this... _incident_ and the way i’m being watched by the new mayor, I’m going to have to suspend you.  Only for a month.  I think it will be good for you to arrange your thoughts and pull yourself back together.  Your bloody drunk as hell!”

He stopped yelling at the broken fox, “I know this is tough for you especially but we are all grieving right now.  You’re not alone.”  He placed an oversized paw on Nick’s shoulder.  The fox looked up, trying to push aside his sorrow and accept the chief’s words.  But he couldn’t. He was so upset and distressed that irrational thoughts kept going through his head.  Everything was blowing out of proportion in all different ways.

Nick sprung up from his chair and faced Bogo.  He had felt a twinge, movement in his chest.  The air seemed lighter for just a second.  “She’s still out there,” he whispered remembering his dream.  “Even if you don’t believe me, please just look for… her body,” he winced saying the last word.  He had such a strong connection with Judy.  He knew that deep down she was still out there, waiting to be found.  

Bogo looked at the hungover and deeply hurting fox and found a spark in his eye.  A glimmer of light was keeping his sane.  It was flickering, waiting to go out.  The least he could do was to look for Judy’s body and capture the assailant.  It was the least he and the force could do, to put her to rest.  He was afraid though.  The last light in Nick’s eye was on the verge of going out.  If it did... when it did, there would be no predicting what would happen to the fox.  

An idea popped into his mind, “I will agree to find her if you, Wilde,  promise to meet with the department psychologist.”

Nick froze.  He _hated_ talking about his problems with anyone.  The only person he felt safe and secure sharing them with was Judy.  His mind shattered even more as he remembered his dream and her cries.  He would have to get over his insecurities.  Her life was at stake.  Nick already had failed her once, he had to get her back.

He sighed while clutching his still-aching head.  “Deal.”  
The two officers shook paws firmly, but for two completely different reasons.  


	6. Camera 15

**Chapter 6: Camera 15**

 

The fox walked out of Bogo’s office, his tail dragging on the ground.  He was hurting so much on the inside, but the idea of the force looking for her lifted his spirits just enough to keep him safe.  From himself.  He was worried sick about her.  Where was the prized possession of the ZPD?  Where was the other half to his heart?  He felt so disconnected to the world.  Judy was the glue that held his messy life together.  Without her comforting smile and huge heart, he was falling apart.     
  
The disheveled animal walked through the station. He could feel the dozens of eyes staring right through him, but he ignored every pair.  They were silent, afraid any breath or movement could break him.  They didn't know what to say, or how to comfort him.  It was that awkward moment when one doesn't really know what to say to such adversity since they were grieving too.  But not as much as Nick.     
  
His head hung low and his heart even lower, but that didn't stop him from finding her desk.  He silently made his way through the station until entering the annex.  None of the animals there seemed to notice his presence which was fine, they were all too busy with their work.  Nick didn't want to be noticed. He couldn't anyways considering he was just a shell of his former self.  He walked right into her tiny cubicle and breathed in her scent, trying to preserve any last memories.  It was untouched.  He stared in awe, her desk was insanely organized, everything had a designated spot from her pencils to her papers.  Even though Nick had been there many times, he practically lived there, something felt so new and empty about it.  He remembered all the times he was reprimanded for hanging around Judy’s desk too often.  But now there were no amethyst eyes staring at him and no shared laughter.    
  
Nick carefully pulled her chair from under her desk, afraid to disturb the tranquility.  His eyes immediately gravitated towards the picture frames she had scattered across her desk.  There were easily a dozen of a smiling fox and rabbit, but where were they now?  There they were, memories encased in time, free from all the horrors of the world.  A small but noticeable smile erupted on his broken face as he looked at the pictures of them together.  He picked one up as the memory suddenly  became vivid.  Nick looked at the frame with two side by side pictures.  On the left was a shot of him on his graduation day, beaming with excitement.  On the right, there was Judy on her own graduation almost a year prior, smiling and ecstatic as always.  He smiled remembering that moment all too well.  Judy's beautiful inspiring speech, receiving his badge, and more importantly, turning his life around.  What easily trumped all was the look on her face.  It was pure happiness.  She was so excited that he had managed to turn his life around, going from a outlaw to a cop.  Even though he was close to seven years older than her, she always treated him like a little brother at the station.  Nick always made fun of that, considering she was only six months more experienced.     
  
That was another reason why their relationship was so odd.  If you had somehow managed to get past the whole prey and predator, bunny and fox thing, then you might be just slightly confused by the age gap. Maybe they had a seven year age gap, but why does that matter.  As some great famous mammal said, love comes in all shapes and sizes.  Literally.     
  
He placed the frame back down and looked at the picture they took together on the day of their engagement party.  He almost chuckled, remembering clearly how she stood on the chair in the photo.  She insisted on being the same height as him so their arms could be around the others waist.  Usually in most photos, Nick's arm was around her shoulders.  Judy's thin arm was wrapped around his waist, making quite an odd photo.  In reality, he knew she only wanted to prevent him from using her head as an armrest, which he did often.  He smiled remembering all their jokes together, well sorta.  It was kind of a one way street.  Nick would make the joke and Judy would punch him.  That how it worked, but they both enjoyed it.     
  
Suddenly he heard approaching footsteps, bringing him back to harsh reality.  He swiftly slammed the photo face down on Judy's desk and covered it with his arm.  He turned around in the chair and saw Chief Bogo towering over him.     
  
“Find any leads Wilde?" The buffalo tried his hardest to treat him like he normally would.  He thought that doing otherwise would A) show his soft side and B) make him upset yet again.  Neither were ideal outcomes.     
  
He responded, his voice just as dead as before, “Nothing yet, and you.”   
  
The chief sighed, “Well we were checking out the security camera feeds on all roads leaving from the burrows.  Surprisingly, we managed to find a car that looked very similar to the one Isabelle described that had dropped her off.”   
  
“How did you figure that out?" Nick asked, with a small spark in his voice.     
  
“Well, Isabelle said that attacker came from behind her, meaning they couldn't have come from the front door or the house.  They must have climbed through the window.  Therefore, the car had to have left through the front driveway and not the main road, leaving only a few options. I had the officers checked all the traffic light cameras and there is one frame with the car in it.  We also found another single frame in the heart of the city.”   
  
“Wait,” the fox  interjected, “the car had to be moving at the speed of light to be in only one frame…”   
  
“I would have got to that if you let me finish,” Bogo barked.      
  
“Anyways, the feed from the traffic cam in the city had a five minute time clip missing.  Basically, I had one of our tech gurus look at the feed and it skips from 17:23:15 to 17:28:37.”   
  
He made a puzzled face until he remembered learning military time in training.     
  
“So, 5:23 - 5:28 had no feed?  Who ever cut it out takes a long time to drive through that intersection.”   
  
“Correct, except for one thing, the one frame we found.” He said while handing the picture of it to him, “whoever had hacked into the system forgot to cut out one crucial frame which is the one you're looking at.”   
  
He stared at the picture and saw the time signature in the bottom left hand corner, 17:25:56.  He read it over and over again, trying to make sure that what he was seeing was correct. He finally posed the question Bogo was waiting for.     
  
“Whoever was tech savvy enough to back into the heavily safeguarded system and cut tape without being caught forgot one frame.  That means they obviously did it on purpose.  Whoever they are has set a trap!” He said close to jumping out of Judy's old seat.  This meant she was alive and just waiting to be found.     
  
The chief, confused as to why he was happy about hearing the trap that was set up continued on, “you realize the predicament the department is under?  This hint we were given is so obvious.  They didn't even try to mask it by keeping the last or first frame.  Usually, this means that they are desperate.  They're trying to reel in the line too fast and they are ready waiting for us.  If we go in guns a blazing, we will be screwed.  We will risk not only the forces lives, but Judy's as well."   
  
That last line got straight through to him.  Nick put his head in his paws and mumbled, "Great, so now we need a who a where and a why."


	7. The Who, the Where, and the Why

**Chapter 7: The Who, the Where, and the Why**

Who, what, when, where, and why.  Those five words were taught in every elementary school across Zootopia.  The five w’s.  The start of all questions.  But then again, like most things learned in school, Nick never thought he would be able to use them in the real world.  So he never put that much effort into his education.  Then again, how much do you really need to know to become a con-man?

Algebraic equations, definitely not.

Kreb cycle, no way.

Proofs?  Who would _ever_ need to use those in the real world?

When he began his training, he had to find all that lost and useless information yet again.  It was like opening closed wounds, well, maybe not.  That may be an extreme exaggeration.  Even though it wasn’t his definition of   _fun,_ it wasn’t that horrible.  Although one of his favorite things was to pester the other trainees by complaining _very_ often.  They all thought he was the dim-witted one, the one who didn’t care.  They did have a right to believe it considering that he played dumb.  In reality, out of his entire class he had the most street smarts and common sense.  That he was born with, they were like his seconds instincts.  Nick was able to find shortcuts and loopholes which made him quite successful.  And then the whole, “not paying attention in school thing” really managed to come back and punch him _pretty_ hard in the face.  His solution, well he would never tell anyone, especially Judy.  Every night he spent hours studying, which was highly unlike him.  Mainly because she would make fun of him.  Well and then she’s make him do more paperwork at the office.  He liked coming across as lazy, all the important and tedious tasks got passed down to other officers.    

Nick snapped back to reality and put his mind to the task ahead of him.  Who, what, where, when and why.  Those were the keystone to solving any case, but today, he only cared about three.  Who?   _Who_ took Judy?  Where?   _Where_ did the _who_ take her?   _Where_ is she now?   _Where_ can we find her?  Finally, the most complicated one of them all, Why?  “Why,” was the motive, it contained all the reasoning, logical or not, behind the actions of a criminal.  He asked himself the important question.   _Why_ would the _who_ take her and shoot her?   _Why_ would anyone do such a dastardly thing?

And then one small thought came to the back of his mind.   _When_ will he see her again?

He banged his head on the desk, waiting for the storm to pass.  A racoon in the cubicle behind Judy looked over the wall after hearing the commotion.  Once she realized who it was, she quickly ducked, hoping not to be noticed by the emotionally unstable Nick.  

The fox somewhat pulled himself together and opened one of her desk drawers.  He didn’t really think he would find anything new.  They basically talked about everything.  Or so he thought.  He leafed through all her case files.  Maybe someone wanted revenge for being arrested.  That thought was immediately put aside as he realized they were all parking violations.  That would be ridiculous if that was the reason for her kidnapping.  He quietly closed that drawer and moved on to the one underneath it.  He was shocked to see the contents.  Inside was a tiny shrine dedicated to Gazelle.  She had a signed ticket signed by the popstar.   There were photos taped to every square inch of the thing.  

 _Wow, that’s not healthy,_ he thought.  Nick had no idea she was this obsessed with Gazelle.  He made a mental note to blame Clawhauser and keep Judy away from him when she came back.  Well… if she came back.

While closing the fan girl drawer, he thought about the Gazelle anonymous club he saw an ad for.  At first he thought it was absolutely ridiculous, but now seeing this, he understood.  

Nick got off the chair and knelt down on the floor.  He pulled at the drawer handle in an attempt to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.  He tried again and again, but to no avail.  He looked a little closer and there it was, right next to the handle was a key hole.  Of course, a locked drawer must have something important in it!  Right?  

To the ex-con, locks were not a major problem.  In fact they weren't a problem at all.   There were three things every outlaw must have on them at all times.  One, money.  Though that may seem obvious, the only way to bribe one or get anything was with money.  Real or fake, legit or counterfeit, it didn't matter.  After all, the greatest evil in the world is greed.  Two, something to aid in getting in and out of sticky situations.  A, er, well a weapon of sorts.  Let's just call it a defensive instrument.  Trouble on the streets is always an issue.  Nick liked to keep a small blade, a Swiss Army knife, in his pocket just in case.  He would never tell Judy that.  Even though most crims preferred guns and badass weapons, he usually got out of problems with his wit and intelligence.  Anyways, what’s more obvious than hearing gunshots in the distance?  The police would come running.  Finally, he pulled out a small wire object from his pocket, the third most valuable tool for a con-artist.  A bobby pin.  Simple, yes.  Useful... extremely.  He didn't use it often, as he could easily find spare keys hidden in false stones and under plants.  

He pulled the ladies’ hair accessory out of his pocket after looking around around the annex for prying eyes.  Finding that no one was watching, he stuck it in the lock and tried to open it.  Surprisingly, there was no satisfying click.  Confused, he pulled at the drawer but it didn’t open.  He tried again, but to no avail.  This trick had always worked, but why wasn’t it now?  He moved onto the next tactic, using a knife to open it.  He looked up and saw a security camera sitting right above his head.  Nick let out an exasperated sigh and ignored it.  Being caught for petty crimes was not on the top of his list.  But saving Judy was.  

Again, the stupid metal box wouldn’t open.  What was with that?   It's not like they would put a military grade lock on a rookie cop’s desk drawer.  Right?  

Feeling stupid and discouraged for not being able to do a simple task like pick a lock, he picked himself up from the cold floor.  He scoured every inch of her desk, flipping over pencil cups and creating chaos.  He looked like a madman, staring at the underside of both the desk and the chair.  Where was that stupid thing?  He looked to the ceiling, as if praying.  Something did catch his eye though.  On the ceiling of the annex, there was a sparkle, a reflection almost.  He turned towards the window and sure enough there it was, the sun.  But what was it reflecting against?  He looked quizzically at the frame he had previously flipped over when Bogo arrived a few minutes prior.  He lifted it up and glass shards fell onto the desk.  He cursed under his breath realizing he managed to break yet another thing.   He pulled the garbage can over and slowly started sweeping the shards into it.  A few shards had managed to make their way into Nick’s paw, but he ignored the pain.  Actually that wasn't entirely true.  He enjoyed the physical pain, it helped relieve him from the emotional pain he was feeling.  After ridding the desk of glass he picked the empty frame back up, ready to throw it away when a little silver object fell out.  It landed on the desk with a sweet sound.  He reached forward to grab it when his paw started throbbing.  Wincing, he pulled each tiny piece of glass filament out, one by one.  

After he finished that tedious and painful task, he began the slightly more important one.  Once again, the fox jumped back onto the floor.  He shivered realizing how cold it was down there compared to a few feet higher.  After all, heat does rise.  Unsurprisingly, the key fit into the lock and turned.  The drawer opened revealing a thick layer of dust.  He coughed and clawed at the air with his paws in a vain attempt to clean the air.  Inside was an unsuspecting pile of Manila folders. He picked up the stack and thumbed through them.  There were many pieces of important paperwork.  Social security documents, her birth certificate, even some family recipes.  But why would she keep these here, and not at the apartment?  Nick asked himself.  He suddenly remembered the multiple times he picked the locks in the department.  He wanted to see if he could get into higher security zones without being caught.  It was more of a test to see how rusty his skills were.  She had always made a scene to embarrass him yelling in front of the entire department, but it never worked.  He never got flustered that easily.  

He looked through more folders filled with receipts and credit card information.   _I don't know how to fill out half of these_ , he thought.  On the very bottom of the stack lay a Manila folder, barely noticeable and thin by comparison to the rest.  On its label read “Operation H.”  What could that mean?  Curious, he flipped through the papers inside.  The first page was what looked like a very official form of paper.  It was titled “conjoined deed,” not that he knew what that meant. He skimmed to the bottom, confused by most of the legal terms.  He was just as confused as the time Judy taught him how to file taxes and sign up for a credit card.  She claimed that paying for everything in cash was highly odd and suspicious.  He didn't argue with the law abiding bunny.  She knew more about that than he did.

On the bottom of the document lay two lines.  The first one said “Judith Hopps” with her name beautifully signed adjacent to it.  Underneath was his own name, printed, Nicholas Wilde.  What was odd though was that someone had scribbled “pending” where his signature supposed to go.  Pending what?  Why did he not sign his name?  He had never seen this document before or heard about it.  Why was Judy hiding this from him?   He hurriedly skipped through all the legal papers until he came across a few printed emails.  What was contained in them bothered him even more.  His mouth dropped open in awe.


	8. 320 Abbey Lane

**Chapter 8: 320 Abbey Lane**

February 11th

_Hello Judith,_

_Just checking up on you after the tour.  I’m sorry it was short and brief but I had somewhere important to be right after.  Luckily, we did manage to fit a thorough tour in the constricted timeframe.  I thought so at least, do you agree?  Anyways, if you want to see it again, I will ask the previous owner if you can stop by and check it out._

_Alright, email me back if you would like me to set that up!_

_-Rashida Zvi_

 The next one was dated roughly two weeks before.  

 January 30th

_Hello Judith,_

_Okay good news, I successfully received the pictures you sent me of your current place.  It’s so tiny, but kind of cozy at the same time!  I’m doing some research and so far I found a place that’s almost one-and-a-half times larger!  I think you’ll love it!  Stop by my office tomorrow and we can go check it out together._

_-Rashida Zvi_

 February 23rd

_Hello Judith,_

_Can I call you Judy, it’s so much shorter.  Anyways, let me stay on topic here.  There were a few issues when I talked to the current owner.  I forget exactly what she said but it was something along the lines of an issue with you...  By the way I think that's ridiculous since you're probably the kindest mammal I know.  Anyways, I think I sorted most of it out, but I would head over there and figure it out yourself.  I tend to get a bit flustered with words, and you are SO much better than myself.  She told me she was free at around 1ish._

_-Rashida Zvi_

 What were these emails even for?  It seemed like she was trying to buy something, but what?  He didn’t remember her talking about any big purchases.  She was obviously hiding whatever it was from him, so what was it?  

He flipped through the rest of the folder but found nothing interesting.  There were a few old issues of home and garden but that was about it.  One more thing was bugging him.  Who was this Rashida Zvi and why did she seem so friendly to Judy?

He turned on the computer and waited for it to turn on.  The spinning ‘loading’ circle made him dizzy as it spun around and around.  Of course it asked for a password, after all this _was_ a police department with highly classified documents.  He rolled his eyes.  On her keyboard was a sticky note with her username and password sitting around for the whole world to see. The fox kept much better care of his private documents and personal belongings.  Back in his con days he worked with some of the highest security software and locks.  He even had a bit of a run in with security issues… but that’s another story for another time.

The Internet connection in the department sucked, he had complained on multiple occasions but was usually shot down.  No one took him seriously at all considering he joked around the majority of the time.  Oh well...  

He opened up the web browser and went straight to her search history.  The recent 100 searches came up, which much to his surprise was all done in a three day timespan.  She used the computer _a lot_ more than he thought.  Nick checked the date realized that her last searches were done around a week and a half ago, the most recent was the day before they left for their wedding.  He cringed, realizing how much better that important event could have…  should have gone.  He slowly scrolled through them, looking for anything unusual or out of the ordinary.  Nick's already broken heart dropped.  As he went back further and further in time, he realized that she was looking up ways to deal with stress.  He felt horrible that he didn't know.  How could he be so blind?   And now she was out there alone and afraid plus her last memories were stress…

Stop.  

He kept reading.  How to deal with stress by Doctor Volpine, how common is it to be worried on your wedding day, psychology.com.  He skipped through these as they lowered his spirits and clogged up all last month of her searches.   _Did she regret marrying me?   Do I stress her out?  How much do I hurt her and how haven't I known?_

He tried to push these thoughts away, so he could keep looking for clues.  Crushed, he spammed the ‘load more results’ button and waited for it to load.  Of course since the connection was poor, they loaded in choppily.  He slammed the mouse down and leaned back in his chair when he realized he had gone too far back.  Results from 2 - 3 months ago were coming in.  He had skipped a crucial important section.  And now he would have to take more time dealing with the Internet to go forwards again.  He buried his face in his paws, feeling hopeless.   _Why did life have to be so hard for me?  When everything finally turned around, it crumbled to an even worse state than before.  Why?  Why me?  What did I do wrong?_

Nick sat slouched over the computer for a while, trying to regain his composure.  It was too hard.  He wanted to give up and go home, but that was impossible.  Home was where she was, and he would never secure knowing she was unsafe.  Through the cracks in his paws, he saw something that intrigued him,  dated around two months ago.  It looked like an address, but an address to what?  320 Abbey Lane, apt 203.  It didn’t ring any bells.  He had never even heard of it.  What was even more odd was how many times she had looked it up.  It seemed like she looked it up at least fifteen times.  Did Rashida Zvi live there?  Nothing was making sense.  Nick knew the pieces were all there, but he couldn’t figure out how to put them together in a logical way.  His mind was far too clouded.

He quickly typed the address into Zoogle Earth.  He rushed and had to re-type it multiple times as his paws were still shaky.  After finally getting it correct, he watched, mesmerized, as it started to zoom in on a building in the heart of the city.  It was a few blocks down from both the department headquarters and their apartment.  He felt even more confused than before.  Some conclusions were forming in his head, but he pushed them away.  They didn’t make much sense and he had no information.  He could _feel_ the gears turning.  Nick looked the address up on the internet.  The first results were just a bother, just a whole slew of listings.  There were so many of them too, apparently this apartment had been on the market for a while.  The owner must have been really desperate, putting ads up on every real estate site possible.  Anyways, why would Judy go to an apartment that for sale?

Wait…….

A……

Minute……

Nick felt so ignorant.  It was right in front of him the whole time.  The deed, the tour, the address.

Judy was trying to buy a house for the both of them.   _That explains why ‘Rashida’ was giving her tours and showing listings.  She was the real estate agent!  And… and the unsigned line by my name on the deed that said pending was no scam, she was waiting to get my approval!_

So many things came into focus.  The absurdly long ‘dinner runs’ were actually when she met with the realtor.  ‘Operation H’ stood for home.  Operation home…   _But why did she not tell me?_

Everything clicked into place, except for one thing.  Nick hurriedly dig out the stack of emails from Judy’s folder.  Papers were flying everywhere as he tried to put a paw on her location.  He read the last email over and over again.  The difficult mammal Rasida Zvi was talking about was the owner.  Could they have been the one who took her?  Rashida even said that they had a problem with Judy.  How could he have missed such a crucial piece of information?  The fox was so overjoyed at the fact that he may have found Judy’s location.  He grabbed his keys and ran out of the department as fast as his short legs could carry him.

320 Abbey Lane


	9. Into the Darkness and the Crimson Sea

**Chapter 9: Into the Darkness and the Crimson Sea**

  
Even though his walls were crumbling, he pushed through.  Not for himself, but for Judy.  The last week was living hell without her.  He was wallowing in the lake of his own pain, alone.  Every thought echoed through his head.  Life was silent.  There was no playful banter, no laughter and no soft punches.  There was only one thing that kept him going.  Even when he thought she was gone for good, he remembered everything she taught him.  To push forward.  He knew that she would be heartbroken to see him like this; hungover, broken, dead...     
  
But now there was a new, stronger fire.  She's out there.  Alive, hopefully.  He tried not to dwell too much on that.  320 Abbey Lane, that's where she was.  Something must have gone horribly wrong with the previous owner.  What happened on her visit, was a mystery.     
  
He sped through the majority of the red lights in the squad car, but that wasn't important.  No one was out at this hour anyways.  It was that awkward time at night after the families went home and before the clubbing started.  In other terms, the streets were empty.  He pulled into a space sloppily and threw the car into park.  Just as he was about to run into the building, the setting sun caught his eye.  There it was, peeking through a small gap in the clouds.  It was beautiful even though something horrible had happened.  How did it have enough energy to pull through?  

He sighed while pulling his broken phone out of his pocket and tried to turn it on.  Of course, why would anything cooperate with him?  He was losing time and he knew it.  The fox slammed the device into the dashboard.  He flipped it over and saw a crack run right through the screen, but it lit up.  He dialed the Chiefs number as fast as he could.  Painstakingly, he waited as it rang.     
  
Once.     
  
Twice.     
  
Three times.    
  
Four.     
  
"Hello this is the chief of the ZPD..."   
  
"I found her get down here, 320 Abbey..."   
  
"Please leave a message after the tone," the robot said.     
  
Nick slammed his head into the steering wheel out of sheer annoyance and frustration.  The car honked and made him jump.  When would his life suddenly get easier?     
  
He whispered something semi-understandable into the voicemail before hanging up.  He whispered because his instincts told him he was threatened, even though there was no immediate danger.  He turned MPS (mammal positioning system) on his phone before shoving it in his pocket.  Nick should have called Clawhauser, but there was no time.  He didn't know for sure that the clock was running low, but he could feel it.  The anxiety was mauling him, he was about to jump out of his fur.     
  
Nick frantically ran into the lobby against his better judgement.  In the academy, they had learned all about the importance of calling in backup when an officer was alone.  Especially for rookies like himself.  It was basically a death wish to walk into an unknown situation alone.  Especially unarmed.   _ Damn it,  _ he thought.  He had no weapon on him besides the small pocket knife in his pocket.  That wouldn’t much help against whatever managed to take Judy down.  Nick didn't think too much about his own peril as he had lost his sense of self of preservation long ago.     
  
He found himself standing face to face with a door.  Not just any door, but apartment 203.  The one Judy had tried to buy for some reason.  Well, he knew the reason, but that was off topic.     
  
The doorknob was pristine, Nick could even see his own reflection.  The distorted fox staring back scared him.  It looked haunted.  He leaned forwards, focusing on the bags under his eyes.  It was as if he got no sleep in weeks, which was a pretty accurate statement.  While sticking his face in front of the doorknob, he noticed something unusual.  There was a long piece of white fur stuck in the keyhole.  His heart dropped.  There was another mammal in this room.  

Nick slowly turned the knob on the door, but it was locked.  Carefully he successfully picked it, trying not to make too much noise.  The door popped open with a soft squeak.  He stuck his face into the room and waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark before entering.  It was pitch black.  Nick’s night vision finally kicked in and he found himself in a decent sized apartment.  Something else pulled at his mind.  A different sense entered his head.  A scent.  His heart rate quickened, he could smell blood.  From his time on the streets, he could recognize that sent anywhere.  He gently pulled the door shut without turning his eyes away from the room.     
  
He shuddered as he made out a slumped figure across the room on the floor.  Forgetting that he was supposed to stay silent, he ran over, nearly tripping on his own two feet.  Sure enough there she was, the cop in her former glory.  Nick did a double take, making sure this was Judy.  She didn't look like the always moving rabbit he knew at all.  This mammal lay unmoving on the floor without a strong positive aura.  Her usually metallic grey fur was soaked in fresh crimson blood.  What shocked and scared him the most was how thin she looked.  Her usually full hips and thighs were replaced by sticks.  It was terrifying, he could see her ribs through the shirt she was wearing.  And by shirt, it was more of tattered fabric that barely kept her decent.  He remembered back to the academy days and training.  But his mind was blank, staring at his mangled partner that lay in front of him.  Who would do something like this?   
  
He hastily picked up her dangerously thin wrist and with his paw, felt around for a pulse.  Nothing.  No steady drum beat.  Just silence.   _ No, no, no.  I came all this way to find her.  I knew she was alive. _  He lowered his head onto her flat chest and listened.  All he wanted was reassurance that he wasn’t too late.  He just wanted to hear a faint beat, or even her voice.  Oh, how much comfort that would bring.  His own heart was too loud, echoing in his ears.  It overpowered his head.  It was all he could hear, the pounding of his heart.  He could barely even focus on the simple task in front of him.     
  
"Carrots," he whispered.  "Judy... don't leave me.  Please..."   
  
_ Was she... she... dead? _  He couldn't bear the thought.  It was all too much, he thought she was alive.  He had gotten his hopes up, but now, they were shot down.  The fire that kept him going had been smothered rather violently.  She was gone.  Forever.  Nick wasn’t the most religious, but he hoped that she was out there somewhere and would remember just a little piece of him.  He knew that he would never forget about her, the bunny who changed his life.   _ For the better, might I add. _  He lay his head on her abdomen, trying to preserve any last memory.  He felt her sticky blood on the side of his face, but he didn’t care anymore.  There was nothing to care about.  Unlike last time, he knew she was gone.  What he needed was proof that Judy was dead, not just forensic analysis’.  But he had the proof lying in front of him.  Now, there was no way to comfort himself.  He closed his bright green eyes, the only sign of color in the dark and depressing room besides the sick amount of blood.  A tear slid out from under his eyelids and slid down his fur, creating an indent down his cheek.  It gently landed on her side.  

Suddenly, Judy sat up violently and screamed.  Nick was quick to put a paw to her mouth, but it only spooked her even more.  

He was relieved, she was alive.  For the most part.  

“Shhh… Judy it's me,” he wiped away his tears.  The sounds coming out of the bunny's mouth were heart wrenching.  They were full of a pain he couldn't comprehend.  

The screams subsided as she felt a warm paw around the back of her head.  She felt comforted on the smooth velvet voice of…

“Nick?!? Is that you,” she wasn't able to see him in the dark, but she could sense who it was.  He was hard to miss, that's for sure.  But something was off.  He seemed uncharacteristically quiet and solemn.   

Her voice was so strained and weak.  It was barely loud enough to hear.  It was as if she lost her voice… from screaming.  Nick stood up and opened the blinds just a little to let in some dark light from the setting sun, but not enough to blind them.  He looked into her half opened eyes and froze.  They were glazed over, as if she wasn't inside.  It scared him. It really scared him.  

Immediately after seeing the russet fox, she relaxed, releasing the tensions in her muscles.  Judy lay back down in the floor and let him embrace her.  That's all he needed, to know she was okay.  The physical embrace of another being calmed her down.  It wasn't any mammal, it was Nick.  Just the way he wrapped his arms around her frail body made her feel secure.  He put a large paw behind her head, forcing it to lay upon his chest.  Judy breathed in the scent of his fur, something so familiar and soothing.  What worried her though was how much he reeked of alcohol.  This was not the fox she knew.   She closed her eyes wishing, hoping this misery would end.  For a week, she had been left alone in the dark, wallowing in another mammal’s blood.  She has no sense of time, or even sight in the dark room.  All she could focus on was the pain she was feeling from the mental, and physical abuse she received.  

“They told me you were dead…”  Nick whispered, his voice shuddering.  “They, they said you lost too much blood.  She could tell he was shaken, but she was even more.  She knew about the horrors that were in this apartment.  He followed her dull gaze over to the corner of the room.  Just barely illuminated lay a large crumpled panther, with a red IV sticking out of his arm.  He followed the course of the tube and saw how it entered a pouch filled with more blood.  Scattered across the floor were a series of empty pouches just like the filled one.  Nick shivered at the sight and understood what had happened.   

He bent down, in an attempt to pick the rabbit up, but she gasped and clutched her side.  Her dull amethyst eyes flew open in pain.  He watched in horror as her back arched in response to the flair up.  Nick carefully tried to pry her bloody paws from her side.  Sure enough, there it was.  A small bullet wound right on the far side of her hip.  His paws were sticky from her blood now, as the wound had opened up again.  The poor lighting made it difficult to make out exactly how deep the shot was, but it didn’t look pretty.  That was for sure.  

Nick slowly lifted up the ruined white shirt she was wearing.  Now it was his turn to gasp as he saw many scratches run down her thin stomach.  He carefully tried to apply pressure to the wound in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.  The fox was worried that he would accidently break her fragile ribs.  

He looked around at all the puddle of red they were sitting in.  It was impossible to tell how much of the blood was actually hers and not the panthers.  He didn't know how much she had already lost.  He whispered to Judy as she gritted her teeth in pain.  Nick tried his hardest to maintain composure.  Losing it would not help either of them.  

Judy suddenly froze and seized moving.  Her long ears shot up into the air, using her last bit of energy.  “Run.”

“What? No!”  Nick was worried, what was spooking her now?

“Leave,” she struggled to articulate the last word.

He looked at the worried look on the injured bunny’s face.  “Leaving you here is completely absurd.  It was out of the question from the day I met you.”  Her breathing slowly started getting heavier and heavier.  The fur on the back of his neck stood up.  He sensed something.  Not one of the five senses, but a sense all the same.  He gripped Judy closer to his body.  He ignored the continuous cries to ‘run’ from his partner.  

Without turning around he felt another presence.  A third one.


	10. The Darkest Depths of the Mind

**Chapter 10: The Darkest Depths of the Mind**

The sixth sense is never talked about, but is arguably one of the most prominent.  The sense that something, or someone, is behind you.  Subconscious perception, it's sometimes called.  Believe it or not, the inner part of the mind can detect a slight movement or sound that doesn’t quite register with the conscious part of the brain.  That’s what sent a chill down Nick’s spine.  The realization that they weren’t alone. 

“Nick Wilde?  I’ll be damned!” said a vicious voice from the dark.  

He instinctively pulled Judy closer to his chest, refusing to let go. Light shuffling could be heard coming down the hallway.  

“Your little ‘friend’ and I having been waiting…” the voice said dripping with loathe.  “I mean, I knew you were coming, eventually.  Although you did take quite a while.  Poor little rabbit over here though you had abandoned her,” the figure sneered.  

Nick’s heart dropped when he she spoke.  Because of his own stupidity and selfish needs, he hid in his room for days.  He really did abandon her.  He  _ betrayed  _ her.  After Nick promised never to do such that.  Hatred built up in his thin chest.  For himself.  Slowly he laid Judy on the ground.  It was time to put his built up anger to use.  He stood up gathering as much confidence as possible.  Nick puffed out his chest and barred his teeth.  He placed himself directly in between the attacker and Judy.  

“What do you want?” He growled, the small amount of light shining on his fangs.  

“Oooh, feisty you're a keeper.”  She paused tapping her chin appearing to talk to no one in particular.  “Actually no I take that back,” she said while having a one sided conversation with herself.  Slowly she walked forward into the the moonlight.  

Nick’s jaw fell open in surprise as he saw the beast who destroyed both his and Judy's life.  There she was, a white coyote.  Her prestige white fur almost blinded him and clashed against the general darkness of the room.  She was definitely taller and more built than he was, but her left leg dragged behind her.  Slung over her shoulder was a massive hunting rifle that took his breath away, in horror, at the sight.  The creature was beautiful in a sickening way, everything about her appearance was gorgeous.  Except for one thing.  Her eyes.  They looked crazy.  She was power stricken and mad and certainly not afraid to show it.  It seemed like nothing would come in between her and her goal.  But what could possess one to be this way?

“Can I have a name to work with,” Nick asked remembering back to his training with hostage situations.  Always get personal, but never too close.  

“Hmm,” she said while pondering the question. “Names aren't important as in the afterlife, if there is one, you won't care.”  He caught a crazy gleam in his eye.  “If you insist… I like Polexia.”  She smiled at herself as Nick scowled.  “I actually like that very much.”

Nick had his eye on the giant weapon around her shoulder, ready for any move she made. 

She immediately noticed what was worrying the red fox.  “Oh this,” she pointed to the hunting rifle slung over her.  She laughed heartily.  “Don't worry, it's only for added effect, it's more of, a toy.”

“Right…”  His voice trailed off.  Why would he believe anything this psycho says?  He felt more threatened as she pointed it straight at his chest. The weapon fired as he fell to the ground with a thud.  Judy screamed and called out to him as he landed right next to her.  Nick clutched his chest, but felt no blood, only pain.  He realized what she had done. Polexia slunk to the ground, pounding the floor with her white paws.  She was laughing.  Hysterically.  Maniacally.  Nick put a paw to his chest as he tried to regain his breath and calm his pounding heart.  

“See I told you foxy,” Polexia screeched, out of breath from her fit. 

Nick wouldn't have any of it.  He was embarrassed and enraged by her games.  Polexia was psychotic, and she had conned him.  Pulling himself up from the ground, he charged her.  Immediately noticing the danger, the coyote picked herself up from the ground.  In one swift motion she stuck her paw out and shifted to the side, tripping him.  He flew across the room and tucked his neck into a somersault, successfully escaping her attack.  Slowly, he brushed himself off, purposefully keeping his back to the monster.  He knew her game, and he wanted to play too.  

“Alright Polexia,” he said trying to keep the anger in his voice from showing.  “What do you want?”

Though she knew it was more of a rhetorical question she answered anyways.  “Absolutely nothing,” she innocently started picking the dried blood from her claws.  They stood there, motionless and silence.  Minutes went by as Nick was afraid to move. She was deranged and what lengths would she go to before stopping?

“I want… to destroy you,” she yelled, pulling a knife out of her hoodie pocket.  “‘Cause I HATE everything you two are and stand for,” she walked towards Nick, her breaths choppy.  Polexia was choleric and insane.  The mad look in her eyes horrified him.  Just as he tried to inch backwards, away from her larger being, he felt the wall slam into his back.  He froze, her knife lay just under his chin.  

“One wrong move and I’ll be adding a fox head to my wall,” she whispered seductively.  His body shook violently, threatening to push itself into the blade.  Nick tried to reason with himself, and come up with a heroic way to escape like they always did in movies.  His reflexes were too slow considering he was still slightly hungover, but he was terrified.  Frozen, unmoving, and deathly afraid of this animal.  

The coyote smirked, imitating his signature look that wasn’t spread across his face.  “You know you’re quite handsome, right?”  She moved the knife blade even closer.  “Any vixen would  _ die  _ for you.  Your good looks and charm, pfft, it would be ridiculous to pass up such an opportunity.”  

She smiled, putting her muzzle right against his.  He shivered as her cold harsh breath landed on his neck.  “Although your eyes are kind of dull,” she pulled her muzzle away, still keeping the blade against his throat.  “I prefer blue.”

He sighed, relieved she hadn't gotten any closer.  “Anyways, where was I…  Oh right.”  Polexia gave him a look that forever was burned into his memory.  It was even more insane and vicious than any of the savage animals he had ever seen.  “But instead,” she started, “You chose her.”  

She pulled the knife away for a split second to ponder her own words.  Nick seized the opportunity and kicked her in the knees, causing her to step away.  He collapsed to the ground and gracefully slid in between Polexia’s legs.  On all fours he crawled over to his rightful position in front of Judy.  

She looked bewildered.   _ How did he get there so fast _ ?  

Nick smiled, “It's called a hustle sweetheart.”  

Her confused look turned to hatred once again.  She pulled out a 9mm pistol out of it’s holster and pointed it straight at him.  “Don’t sass me, only I can do that,” her voice sounded dull, empty almost.  This time, she wasn’t messing with him.  She fired straight at his chest, but missed the mark as her paw shook from her rage.  The slug found its way into Nick’s knee cap causing him to crumple to the floor.  

“Nick no!”  Judy screamed from behind him, not seeing where the bullet had struck.  His red body lay far in front of her own.  She tried to pick herself up to help him as Polexia’s sadistic voice filled her ears.  “Really rabbit, I thought by now you would know the drill.”  She looked at her with complete disappointment.  Like a parent chastising a young child.  “Since I need to reiterate it for the stupid bunny,” she said talking to the wall, “Move and i’ll finish him off.  It would be easy if I did so right now, but now that I think about it, that wouldn't be as fun.”  

Nick clutched his knee, the pain wearing off as the adrenaline coursed through his body.  Polexia towered over his fallen body and looked at the sad sight on the ground.  Her fur was still sparkling white and untouched.  She smiled before proceeding to roughly grab him by the wrists and drag him over to the far side of the room.  He twisted and wriggled, desperately trying to get out of her strong grip.  He could feel his wrists pop out of place.  She was much stronger and bigger.  In the moonlight, it was easy to see how huge her forearms and biceps were.  She was threatening and there was no disagreeing with that.  

“Nicky, you know you need to put on more weight, have you been eating?” She sneered while wrenching his arms behind his back.  

_ No _ , he thought.  He barely ate anything since after Judy disappeared.  Yet again another reason why he was physically inferior to this canine.  

Yet again she reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of paw-cuffs.   _ What other torture devices does she carry around?   _ Polexia secured his paws behind together before finally flipping him on his back.  He lay completely helpless, like a bird kicked out of its nest.  

“Ladies and gentle  _ foxes _ , please stay in your seats as the show begins!”  She yelled while crazily waving her arms.  She took a bow and looked right into Judy's strained face.  “Humph, you were cuter before, what happened?”

“You happened,” the rabbit mumbled while trying to pick herself up.  

Nick watched as Polexia’s body twitched in anger.  She had random moments where she would go from sadistically happy, to murderous and back again. Nick had to figure her out, and fast if either of them were to survive. “I will kill you if you so much as put a paw on her..” He started before she cut him off.  

“Honey,” she started seriously, “Some of us aren't afraid of dying.”

Nick paled at what she said.  They were dealings with a psychopath. She wasn't afraid of death, she wanted to get the job done and being killed herself was part of it.  

She bent down to Judy’s eye level and paused.  She turned around to look at Nick and admire her handiwork.  

“Damn, I should have hog-tied him,” she shouted to herself.  “Oh well, this is my last…game...so let's make this count.”

Before the two cops could figure out what was happening, Polexia backhanded the crippled rabbit.  Judy's was unable to move in time took a large paw to the face.  Her head whipped to the side as she groaned. She put a small paw to her face as the burning sensation commenced. 

“That's for being a complete pain in the ass during your stay here.”  The monster started jumping up and down with excitement.  

Nick screamed, his voice lacking its usual sarcastic tone, “Stop!”  

Polexia turned around for a brief second, her face looking bored, “Shut up fox.”

She looked back at her original victim.  “Oh and this,” she started as she formed a fist.  The muscles in her arm contracted.  She cocked her arm making Nick gasp.  Her balled oversized paw sailed through the air at an unsuspecting Judy’s face.  With a deafening thud the tiny rabbit’s neck snapped to the side and she immediately slumped to the floor. 

“That’s what happens when you become overly attached to someone outside of your species.”

“No, Carrots,” he wailed, his voice becoming hoarse.  Her thin body lay motionless against the floor.  He was losing it all sanity, crippled on the floor, unable to do anything while she was beaten senseless.  “You maniac,” he cried hysterically.  “You sick monster!  How can you live with yourself.”

Polexia scowled, her features dropped in the moonlight.  She retreated into the darkest depths of her mind and responded definitively.  “I don't.”

The coyote sulked out of the room, without saying a word. The fox lay confused on his stomach at the sudden change in personality.  One second she was a raging murderer and the next, well she seemed depressed.  He was no expert in psyche but from his time on the streets, he had dealt with some mentally unstable creatures.  There was no doubting that she fell under that category.  

Nick took advantage of this moment to figure out an escape plan.  The cuffs that bound his wrists were not that tight.  That easily put him in the upper hand (or paw).  Slowly, he coaxed his paw out of the metal.  It burned, layers of skin were pulled off in the process but he ignored it.  Desperate situations called for desperate measures.  

With one free paw, he picked himself up off the ground and limped over to his partner.  His favored his dominant leg, the pain was slowly becoming unbearable.  She looked afraid, she knew what the coyote was capable of.  

He bent down and whispered in her large ears, “Come on Carrots, wrap your arms around my neck.”  He tried to pick her up but she whimpered in protest, clutching her side.  Judy never whimpered.  She was supposed to be strong.  Even more so than he was.  

“Nick, run,” she whispered while clasping his paws in her own.  Her violet eyes fluttered open.  “Run and save yourself.  I’m a lost cause.  Nick, I love you and I care about you.  I will never forgive myself if I let you go alongside me.”  Judy started yelling, her voice becoming ragged, “She will torture you and break you down until there’s nothing left.  I’m already gone, I don’t want you to be too.”

Nick ignored the bs she said as he started to pick the bunny up in his arms.  

Heavy footsteps rounded the corner as Polexia, once again fell under the shadow of the moonlight.  

“Wohoa, foxy,” her sadistic smirk once again filled her face.  “Where do you think your going?”

She had strategically placed herself right in front of the door.  Her larger frame filled up the hallway, her gaze towering over the hostages.  She pulled a new pistol out once again.  The reflective barrel showed both Polexia’s psychotic face and Nick’s diminished one.  

“You know, I spent a lot of money on this baby here,” she stared into the barrel and tightened her grip.  “I haven’t gotten a chance to use this one yet.  I’m not quite sure I want to bloody it up yet…”

He had figured her out.  All he had to do was convince her out of it when she was in one of her  _ quieter  _ moods.  

Nick’s knee buckled, he was feeling weak from blood loss.  “Look, Polexia.  I know you hate this city.  I did too.  I grew up in the slums, and was rejected by every mammal to exist.  There was light in this city, but it wasn’t for animals like me.  And, and now I think we’re in the same boat.  Not literally of course, but figuratively.  We both despise something about this society.  The only difference is, that I was able to find the light.  I was introduced to it by her,” he said motioning to bunny in his arms.  

The coyote tilted her head to the side, the pistol hanging down at her side.  She was starting to get antsy.  He continued  “Would you just hear me out?  All I’m saying is that if I was able to be happy, you will be too.”

She growled and stomped her foot, “Enough!  I don’t want to hear your sappy cliche love story,” she mocked.  Her voice continued to rise, “Anyways, you got it all wrong Wilde.  I expected more from you, I’m surprised you didn’t pick up on this.  Now you really pissed me off,” her voice shook with rage.  

“Its because of you I’m upset.  How dare you say that I can be happy in this city and that I was a reject!”

Nick stepped backwards, holding tighter onto Judy’s body, “That’s not what I mea…”

“I was happy, I was living a great life until you came along.  You made me unhappy,” she pointed the gun at the both of them.

“My days were wonderful, every day I woke up to a fresh start and got to enjoy myself.  I would drink coffee every morning and stroll through the park.  I thought life was going to be perfect until one day I accidently came across you two in the park.  I lost sleep for days because it disgusted me.  Everyone stared but you ignored them.  You didn’t care about me or any of the others who were deeply disturbed.  Once I manage to get it out of my system, more interspecies couples were popping up.  Everyday I see them, so how dare you tell me that I wasn’t happy before,” her voice was shaking as well as her whole body.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks.  

Nick closed his eyes.  Was their relationship really having this much of an effect on the city?  He scolded himself for even thinking that.  She was insane, delusional, and messing with his head.  

“I love Judy and no one is going to stop me from being with her.”

Polexia bared her fangs, “And no one is going to stop me from killing you both.”  She sprung forwards the gun held firmly in her paws.  Her thin finger pressed the trigger without remorse.  Time slowed down allowing Nick to turn his back to her.  His body acted as a shield to Judy.  The bullet slowly hit him in the back and embedded itself in his spine.  He collapsed to the ground, his legs giving out.  Judy screamed as his large body toppled on top of her own crippled one.  At the same time, the blast was too much for Polexia.  The force of the shot pushed her backwards and the gun slipped out of her paws and slid across the floor.  Judy watched it stop spinning and land directly in the middle of the room, equidistant from both females.  

Judy wriggled out from under Nick’s body and winced while eying the pistol in the same maniacal way as her attacker.  She pushed herself up, a wave of dizziness washed over her, threatening to knock her down.  Her vision swam but she slowly pushed herself to get to the weapon.  Polexia, struggled to get up off the floor from her own crumpled position.  They looked each other in the eye, victim to attacker.  But the tides turned, the former had more strength.  More mental strength.  Judy picked up the metal object and whirled around like she did thousands of times in training.  Polexia found herself looking into the barrel of her own gun.  She didn’t look scared facing her own death.  She was just shocked that she was going to die at the hands of a mangled animal a third of her size.  Judy mustered a meak smile before pressing the trigger.

“Its called a hustle sweetheart.”  She didn’t even bother bracing for the force that would be against her frail body.  She accepted it, and flew across the room before hitting the wall behind.  The bullet sailed across the room before finding its home in Polexia’s chest.  

Just as unconsciousness threatened to engulf the three of them, Polexia got the last word in.  

“I… I had fun.”


	11. A Shattered Mind, a Shattered Soul, a Shattered Body

**Chapter 11: A Shattered Mind, a Shattered Soul, a Shattered Body**

If this was heaven, then it wasn’t as beautiful as Judy thought it would be.  There were no colorful forests, or even a palm tree covered oasis.  It wasn’t exactly paradise.  There was only one color.  White.  Everything was white.  And really bright too, it hurt her violet eyes.  She was alone and scared.  When did she die?  Where was everyone else?  A beeping sound caught her attention, it became more rapid.  She tried to turn her head to the source but her neck didn’t move to her command.  

_ Hello?   _ Judy tried to say, but no words came out of her mouth.  She tried to speak again but it was as if someone had stuffed a tube down her throat.  

_ Oh no, where am I?   _ Or how about the bigger question:  _ Am I dead _ ?

Her heart started racing and the beeping noise did too.  Judy tried to sit up but it felt like the weight of the world was  _ literally  _ holding her down.  She tried to look out of the corner of her eyes but yet again found nothing but white.  What was with that?  

She closed her eyes, hoping that she would fall back asleep again, or die again.  Judy was beyond confused, but primarily afraid.  Nothing was in sight, no one was in sight.  She was alone.  The beeping continued to increase and became more annoying.  Memories flashed through her head but didn’t seemed connected in any way.

_ A badge was presented on a spring day.  Applause and cheering cut through the breeze that ruffled her ears.  But what for? _

_ An office, no a job.  Her job.  A first day and a first case.  A fox, a lollipop and an ultimatum.   _

_ Another badge, but not for her.  For a fox?  Applause could be heard as she stared straight ahead into the audience but mainly into the emerald pair of a fox. _

_ A kiss.  Her first kiss.  Full of love and compassion.  She was swept up in his arms and twirled around.  And a fox.  Something else lurked in the shadows.  It was disapproval itself, showing its ugly face. _

_ A ring and a fox.  A ring with a diamond and a boardwalk.  Love, commitment and fairy lights.  A kneeling figure and a trick.  She kissed his lips and whispered yes.   _

_ A rabbit and a dress.  A long and white dress.  A wedding dress?  A peek out the window showed a sharply dressed fox on a gazebos stairs.  She looked closer and saw chairs filled with bunnies.  She walked away and smiled ready for something.  A shot, crippling pain and darkness. _

_ A voice as malicious as a knife.  It cut through her ears with hatred.  A punch and a coyote.  An iron.  Words.  Many, many words.  The words were almost, if not more painful than the wounds. _

_ Blood.  Blood everywhere, it coated her fur and paws.  She was scared and had lost hope, but only one thing kept her on earth, a fox.   _

_ A fox’s voice.  Smooth and comforting, the opposite of the coyote’s.  A welcomed touch, a recognized one.  Assurance that it will all be okay.  Another shot, and the comforting figure was gone.  She cried out in confusion.  _

What was happening?  She remembered nothing, only these weird fleeting details and partial memories.  There was a huge gap in her life.  Nothing was consistent, she had no idea where she was or what had happened.  She was terrified, and panic stricken.  Judy was alone and clueless in the white world.  She remembered absolutely nothing besides her name and a fox.  Who was this fox that she caught snippets of memories with?

He was tall and lean, with eyes as green as the grass.  He was snarky yet handsome, very handsome actually.  Another thought went through her mind, again about this fox.  He had a low and sarcastic voice.  His fur was red and soft.  But how did she know that?  His embrace was comforting and his mind was sharp.  The one thing she wanted most was to bury her head this fox creature’s chest.  But who was  _ he  _ and why did it seem like she  _ knew  _ him?

Tears welled up in her eyes, no one was there to help her.  She wanted to leave this weird world and it's annoying beeping after only being there for a few minutes.  

Judy opened her eyes once again, hoping that this world has disappeared while they were closed.  Sadness once again filled her heart as yet again she was introduced to the monotoned 

A loud crash resonated throughout the room.  Well, it wasn’t that loud, but in comparison to the emptiness and the beeping she learned to ignore, it was deafening.  She tried to flinch, but her muscles felt as if led was flowing through them.  Suddenly a friendly face popped into her line of sight.  They smiled.  Was this God?  

They bent over to adjust something important before looking at the tiny rabbit.  They touched her ears before pulling a clipboard out.  

“Alright, Officer Hopps, I’m glad to see you’ve woken up.  I’m going to increase your pain meds so you might feel really fatigued.  I encourage you to rest. ”  They smiled and fidgeted with another device.  

Wait,  _ Officer _ ?  Pain meds?  

She couldn’t put any more thought into the words as her vision started to pulsate and her limbs went limp.  The world swimmed around her very eyes before the white world was replaced by black.  

* * *

Judy’s eyes opened once again to the white world.  But this time there was definitely someone else in the world with her.  Suddenly the world started moving and a buzzing noise echoed through her head.  A painting slowly flooded into view as well as the rest of her own body.  

_ Wait this isn't heaven, it's a hospital _ .   _ And my bed is being moved.   _ Judy realized that the white she was staring at earlier was a pristine white ceiling.   _ What am I doing in a hospital? _  A buffalo in a police uniform walked into her line of sight with a doctor by his side.  He leaned over the edge of her bed and smiled after seeing the large array of flowers on the table next to her.  

“Well I’m glad to see that you're alive and okay.  When I signed up for this job, I knew that it was my duty to protect my officers to the best of my ability. I also knew that it would be difficult and that I might lose some of the best along the way.  I'm just really,” he paused, “glad to see that both you and Officer Wilde are going to be okay.”

_ Wait, what wild officer?  _   Nothing was making sense and her head started to throb.  The chief of police was speaking to her, as she deducted from the badge on his chest.  Her head was pounding from the frustration.  She couldn't say anything for some reason and could barely move.  

A female dingo leaned over and whispered something in the buffalo’s ears that made his jaw drop.  The only thing she caught was “amnesia.”   

_ What does that have to do with anything? _

The doctor walked over to Judy and smiled while putting a paw reassuringly on her shoulder.  “Hi Judy!  My name is Dr. Argo and I'm going to be helping you through this, um, mental block.  Alright?”  She smiled a little too enthusiastically while speaking.  As much as Judy wanted to say something and answer her pointless question, she was physically unable.  

Argo, noticing the rabbits uncomfort spoke again in a soft voice, “Okay Judy, right now there's a tube in your throat so try not to speak alright?”

She already hated her.  The doctor spoke as if she were a child.   _ I'm 27 _ , she wanted to scream until she started questioning her own age.  After being put down in the animalia social system her whole life, the last thing she wanted was to be patronized in a hospital of all places.  

Argo lowered herself onto the bed.  “Judy right now you are suffering from…” She looked at a file in her paw, “Mild dissociative amnesia.  While yes that does sound scary, we should be able to help you through it quite easily.”  Dr. Argo practically read Judy’s mind.  “Dissociative amnesia is the loss of memory caused by traumatic events.  In your case, it shouldn’t be that bad to get you to recall those memories.  Trust me when I say this, I am a psychologist and I have worked with some of the worst amnesiacs.  We will find a way to get you better if it's the last thing we do.”

She felt slightly better that she wouldn’t be left in the dark any longer, but the one thing on her mind was how Argo kept switching pronouns.  ‘We will help you, I will help you’.   _ Being in the hospital for only a day _ , she thought suddenly losing her sense of time,  _ and I'm already losing my mind.  I'm so irrational and emotional.  Judy closed her eyes and waited.  _

A new thought came to her mind.   _ “You bunnies are so emotional.” _

The next hour went by in a blur as the regular doctor came in and spoke with her.  She mainly drifted off when he was speaking in what seemed like a different language.  What she concurred from the check-up was that she had a broken neck, and concussion (which explained the headaches nicely), severe malnutrition and dehydration, two gunshot wounds and something related to her lung she didn’t quite catch.  And then there were the lovely assortment of scratches and cuts that lined her tiny body.  She was shocked after hearing the extensive list that she wasn’t in much pain.  They must have used absurdly strong pain killers.  

For the rest of the day she drifted in and out of sleep.  More doctors came in and she continued trying to ignore them.  Her parents even came in to visit, but she was so out of it that she missed them completely.  The doctors told her they would come back the next day.  

One thing was even weirder than the rest and was constantly on her mind the whole day.  They kept talking about a “wild.”  At first she thought they meant wild as in the verb but it seemed like they were referring to it as a noun.  Like an animal.   Apparently ‘Wilde’ was her partner and he was in surgery currently.  Judy hoped he got better, she didn’t want to see or hear about anyone getting hurt.

As the long day went by, pieces of memories started coming back to her.  She remembered her police training and becoming a cop.  Judy even was able to recognize the Chief.  It was a weird feeling, an endless void that took up her mind.  As much as she tried to remember anything, nothing would come back.  The psychologist said that there were some triggers that wouldkick start the retrieval process, but so far it seemed hopeless.  Judy was even warned that it might take years to bring back her memories, but it could also take hours.  

While staring pointlessly at the ceiling for the majority of the day, things were starting to come back, which felt even weirder.  It was like pieces of a puzzle coming together, but the missing pieces were in front of her face but untouchable.  Everything was on the tip of her tongue and it was about to drive her to the brink of insanity.  

The day somehow managed to fly by, considering it was more uneventful than the first.  But the next day on the other paw, was quite unusual.  Not that any of her situation was normal…

Doctors rushed in and out for some reason, though they weren’t tending to her.  Judy assumed she had a roommate, but couldn’t quite see him or her due to the fact that her neck was  _ still _ immobile.  The nurse walked in and adjusted her bed once again.  Judy motioned towards her abdomen where the shot was.  It had started to throb again.  The nurse smiled and increased her dose of painkillers.  She wasn't quite sure if it was because of the meds that she was seeing things.  After all she was quite loopy, but out of the corner of her eye she Judy made out a red patch of fur.  The nurses helping her roommate started moving his bed forwards, and into her line of sight.  

Laying shirtless on the oversized hospital bed was a red fox.  His chest was rising and falling at a slightly shuttered rate.  His heart monitor beat slightly slower than her own, indicating he was out under anesthetics and probably just came out of surgery.  A group of doctors started to stare at her, as if they were waiting for something.  They said nothing, just stared.  Bogo walked into the room and prayed silently that she would be triggered.  Not only did he want to know exactly what happened to her for a report, he needed his best cop back.   _ She was the only one who could control Wilde, well, sort of. _  The buffalo grimaced when he thought of his officers.  Earlier that morning he had a meeting with the lead doctors.  He demanded news of his officers condition.  While Judy was on progress to make a full,  _ physical,  _ recovery Nick was not so lucky.  Though his condition wasn't life threatening, it didn't seem likely he'd be able to be on the force anymore.  

“Hopps,” he said while motioning to the motionless fox. 

_ What do they want from me?   _ She gave the group of five a confused look.  Dr. Argos led the pack and and with a clap of her paws, summoned the the other doctors to turn the fox’s bed to the side.  He faced the bewildered Judy.  The room grew silent almost instantly, the air sucked out. 

He looked oddly familiar to Judy, with the smug look eternally plastered on his sleeping face.  For some reason her heart grew warm when looking at him.  His name was on the tip of her tongue, so close yet so far.  

_ Where is he from? _

Bogo made a signal with his hoof as if to say  _ go on.   _ He  _ knew  _ how close she was.  

The limp fox’s body jerked, his eyelids opening for less than a second.  In that tiny margin of time, she saw the tiniest flash of green.  Green so bright, any emerald would be jealous.  

_ Nick _

Suddenly, the dam broke releasing a massive wave of emotion.  Memories of the near and far past flooded back into Judy’s mind.  It had all came back, two years worth of memories came barreling back and put her mind into overload. The attempted wedding with her soon to be husband Nick, the kidnapping.  But what hit her with a force like none other was the torture she endured.  The abuse, the hitting, the water and the  _ thoughts _ .  She screamed as her entire mind, entire  _ being  _ snapped.  Judy’s voice shattered and heart monitor beeped beyond control.  Her body shook as tears racked her entire frail body.  The doctors swarmed her in an attempt to hold her down to prevent her from accidentally injuring herself.  Her desperate screeches were terminated by by sudden gasps.   A wolf by her side pulled out a syringe and gently slid the needle into Judy’s flailing arm.  Almost instantly she drifted into the comforting embrace of sleep’s arms.  

  
Judy was always the strongest in the department, but today, she broke on the spot.  


	12. Progress

**Chapter 12: Progress**

The sun shone brightly through the hospital window, illuminating the drab white room.  It was obviously high noon, and Nick’s stomach growled, yet he wasn’t hungry.  He didn’t feel like moving from the somewhat comfortable position he was in.  He watched the clouds pass by out the window and the wind ruffle the leaves in the trees.  He longed to go outside and feel the grass beneath feet and the sun on his back.  Nick wanted to have a picnic with Judy under a tree, no, the willow tree more in the park.  Every weekend it was their ritual to bring a basket with lunch and a red checkered blanket.  They would either talk for hours or just sit silently and enjoy each other’s company.  Everytime Judy would manage to fall asleep in his arms, her head buried into his chest.  He never protested, he loved the sight and feeling of his bunny cuddled against him.   _I wish I, no we, could have just that again,_ he thought.

If only life could be so easy.  They would have been married already and not imprisoned in the hospital.  His heart ached beyond celestial comprehension.  He had watched his best friend and the love of his life get abused and almost killed, yet there was nothing he could do.  Nick had never felt so helpless in his life.  It was like a dream, where you're stuck in place, and forced to watch the world from an outside standpoint.  

Nick was alone in the bright room, and had no idea where Judy was.  It scared him a lot.  Though it may have come across as insecure, he was afraid that he would lose her again.  

He wished a nurse would come in to check up on him.  They probably had no idea he had woken up for the first time.  Well, that was a white lie.  He had woken up on multiple occasions but could barely remember any of it.  It was a complete blur, between the pain and drugs they had him on.  Then he remembered a strange dream.  It was more disturbing more than anything else.  All he could remember were screams.  Bloodcurdling, merciless screams.  It was a sound that no animal should have ever made.  It continued to haunt him, The sounds continuously ripping through his skull.  He wanted to cover his ears, but that of course would help block out the silent screams.  And then he remembered a lot of light.   Right in his eyes.  Looking back, he thought it was probably the operating table.  

_Sirens were blazing as a shiver ran through the top half of his body.  His chest was cold, since they took Judy away from him.  They had trouble wrestling her out of the fox’s surprisingly strong grip.  The medics immediately started to staunch the blood coming from his knee.  To their surprise, he didn’t flinch or respond to the pain.  However, when they located the other shot, he had a worse reaction.  His body went limp after he howled in pain.  The medics went into a frenzy when they realized his condition._

_The ride in the ambulance was even more painful.  Ever bump sent a jarring jolt through his spine.  He flickered in and out of consciousness.  He vaguely remembered Bogo standing over him, saying things like “stay with us Wilde,” and swearing at Nick’s stupidity.  At the moment, he was just trying to clench his eyes and paws shut to alleviate the pain.  Luckily he didn’t have to worry about pain much longer as anesthesia did the trick._

Besides the physical pain, the scariest was that he had no idea where Judy was.  

Nick had been through a couple of surgeries already in an attempt to remove the two bullets.  One was lodged in his knee cap, the other was in a more compromising place.  The doctors had mentioned they were worried.  That was a snippet he caught on the operating table.  It was odd though, he felt no pain in his knee.  Not that he was complaining there…

He heard a slow and rhythmic beeping sound, a heartbeat that didn’t quite match his own.   _Could there be another patient in the room?  Could it be Judy?_ Nick tried to sniff the air, looking for Judy’s soft scent.  Of course, the only thing he could smell was the lovely antiseptic.  

Nick winced feeling his left arm getting cramped.  Afterall, sitting on his side for hours wasn’t the most comfortable.  Using his free arm, he reached backwards and got a firm grip on the headboard.  Slowly, the fox pulled himself upwards into a sitting position.  Each inch he rose upwards took forever.  Nick groaned out of frustration.  The task that should have been simple had left him beyond exhausted.  With his arms pushed himself into the bed and rolled on his other side so he faced the door.  That was until his ragged breath caught in his throat.  

On the other side of the room lay a bunny.  Judy.  She was wearing a hospital gown that was way too big for her, and it dangled over her arms.  IV drip bags were hanging on rods by her bed.  Tubes and wires stuck out of her body at every angle.  A neck brace cemented her head in place and kept her focused on the ceiling.  Her eyes were closed, yet she her eyelids and body twitched, indicating she was in some sort of dream like state.  She had a black eye and a series of scratched that stretched across her face.  Nick stared in horror at the state his partner was in.

He so desperately wanted to run over to just hug her and let her know he was there.  Judy looked so frail and fragile though, like a breeze would break her.  He didn’t know she was already broken.  

Only one thing was on his mind; he had to go over to her.  He did a quick check on his body, mainly to see the extent of his injuries.  To his surprise he found nothing to be wrong except for a couple scratches here and there and an occasional sore muscle.  And well, the bullet in the knee thing, but that was painless and shouldn’t have been too much of a problem.  Upon seeing that he was somewhat alive and generally unscathed, Nick grabbed the IV from his arm crevice and pulled it out.  He winced in discomfort, needles were not fun.  Nick pushed the sheet away with his arms, gaining him an odd sensation in his back.  Thinking nothing of it, he tried to swing his legs over the edge of the bed but to no avail.  They just wouldn't move on his command.  Nick felt claustrophobic by the fact that his own body wasn’t cooperating.  What was with that?  

Empowered by the idea of seeing Judy, he pulled manually lifted his legs over the side of the bed using his arms.  Nick flopped backwards, exhausted by what should have been an easy task any other day.   He sighed, feeling helpless like a child in the hospital.  

Slowly he pushed himself up again with his arms careful not to pull his back.  Nick stared at the short distance in between himself and Judy.  While it may have been a few feet, it looked like crossing a chasm.  His long feet dangled above the ground and he looked down, suddenly becoming dizzy.   _Those machines were probably important._  He started to hear footsteps coming down the hallway.  Usually getting reprimanded was not any of his concern, but he felt like the doctors were against him, and wanted to keep him from Judy.  Most of the paranoia was completely insane, and caused without reason.  

Before he could waste any more energy, Nick used his upper body and core to swing forwards off the bed.  He should have been able to land on his feet, but his legs collapsed underneath his body.  In the air, his back arched and twisted as he tried to grab anything.  He thrust his paw out to hold on to the bed, but he just missed it.  Nick hit the ground with a thud and cried out in pain.  He put a paw to his back and felt something hot and sticky.  The pain was unbearable, it radiated up and down his back.  He felt it again before concluding that he had ripped a few stitches.  

Nick was embarrassed, that he was unable to get up and walk few feet.  His legs weren't broken, and they felt fine.  Well, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary or... anything at all actually.  He eyed the red call button that was sitting just within his reach.  He knew he had to press it, as he was laying, stuck on the floor unable to move.  At the same time he despised doing so.  Nick   _hated_ to admit to the fact that he couldn't function properly on his own.  That he would have to rely on someone else for assistance.  He overcame that feeling as soon as his vision started spinning.  The crippled fox looked upwards at Judy one last time before smashing the button with his paw.   

* * *

“How about we go on a walk Judy,” Dr. Argos asked rhetorically.  Even though she didn't want to move, the dingo wouldn't take no for an answer.  She felt a nurse gently lift her from the bed and place her in a chair.  No... a moving chair, wheelchair.  After the breakdown incident the previous day, they had been cautious and started giving her extremely low doses of sedatives to reduce her ability to move around too much.  While it made her feel horribly groggy, they had a good reason to do so.  Judy had hyperventilated and strained a few already injured muscles, which became especially dangerous when it combined with her collapsed lung.  

Over the past week’s five star hospital stay, she had learned a lot about her condition that she probably shouldn't have known.  Unable to move around, the only way she could occupy herself was by listening.  Earlier on, she overheard a doctor talking to who she presumed to Bogo about a pneumothorax.  Eventually, she had learned that it essentially meant her lung had collapsed at some point during one of her unfortunate encounters with Polexia.  One of her small, fragile ribs had managed to get fractured and impaled her lung.  Well, impale would be a strong word for it, but it created a hole.  All the air she breathed in filled the space in her chest, the pleural space, and then her lung deflated like a balloon.  This new info explained why Judy was feeling out of breath and why she felt sharp pains in her chest.  Now she felt like a medical expert.   _I could become a medical examiner.  I wonder what Nick would think about that, coming home every night smelling like dead bodies?_   _He wouldn’t want to get near me that’s for sure._ She smirked at the idea of a tiny bunny cutting up huge animals, all in the name of justice.  

Argos’ voice snapped her back to the harsh reality.  “I'm very impressed with the progress you’ve made.  The regaining of memory in such a short time span?  I've never seen anything like it.”   She hesitated, choosing her next words carefully.  

“That being said, I know these... memories, and the things you’ve experienced are especially harsh to remember.  I want you to know that blocking them out forever won’t do you much good, but if going through it again is too much for you at the moment, then I will respect your choice and let you keep them to yourself.”

Judy was upset, no beyond just upset.  She was outraged.  She couldn’t cope with her feelings the way she wanted to because they locked her up inside her own head.  With all the medication and sedatives, it felt like her mind was detached from her body.  Just observing it from a third person view.  And then there was the fact that Argos had mentioned talking about it, which infuriated her.  The doctor knew that she couldn’t talk when there was oxygen being pumped into her body, leaving her only one option.  To stay hidden in her self and silent.  That was what bothered Judy the most.  She was getting all these options, but being unable to speak for herself, they took advantage of her.  Of course, since she was a detective, her job was all about coming up with wild theories and explanations.  Now with nothing else to occupy her time, her imagination was running rampant and becoming more paranoid.  

And then there was the fact that she was driving herself crazy, since she was unable to speak.  Usually at the office, she spent close to every free minute talking with Nick; whether it was office gossip (which they were usually the center of), or their playful banter.  Without him, she felt lonely.  

Loneliness was a foreign feeling for Judy Hopps.  Growing up in a house with 275 siblings, it was impossible.  No matter what, there was always someone, if not many someone's who would be there for her.  When she moved to the city, she was excited by her new adventure awaiting, which overcame the dreaded feeling.  Even hearing the obnoxious Bucky and Pronk every night gave her some form of comfort.  Then she met Nick.  He thought he could take the tiny bunny down, but in the end he somehow managed to fall for her.  And vice versa.  Judy spent all her time with him, and the lonely feeling was gone for good.  But now, in the hospital, it had returned.  

The chair squeaked to a stop in front of an observation window.  

“I thought seeing him might help you feel better.”  The dingo stated   

Judy looked intently through the window.  The sight caused her heart both to drop and flutter.  Her partner lay on his stomach on an operating table, his eyes shut with a plastic anesthetic mask covering his muzzle.  His tongue hung out of his mouth, the sight making her laugh slightly on the inside.  However, the brief moment of joy was taken away when she saw the giant cloth covering his body.  The square hole lay directly over the middle of his back.  Four surgeons stood around him with what looked like torture devices.  Luckily, from her vantage point she couldn’t see exactly what they were doing, which was probably for the better.  A fifth surgeon, a rodent, ran up and down his back, small enough to perform more delicate procedures.  Her violet eyes shifted over to the screen next to his body.  She was mesmerized by the strong and steady rhythm of his heart beat.  

"Nick should be coming out of surgery in the next hour or so.  Theoretically, he should wake up approximately an hour after that, and then you can talk."

Through the cloud covering her senses and movement, she gingerly stretched her arm out and lay a paw on the glass.  She squinted and adjusted its position so that it looked like it lay on his ears.   _He loves that, when I scratch his ears._  For the first time in a while she felt a smile appear on her face.  

Dr. Argos smiled in response to Judy’s reaction.  She knew that at first, seeing him in that state would disturb her, but once she understood that Nick was alright, she would be put at ease.  And being at ease sped up the recovery process.  But, she had a few more things to say to the bunny before she left.  Well, before intense therapy began, she had to at least bring her physically back to normalcy.

Argos felt her hip vibrate.  She looked down and saw a message appear on her hospital pager.  

“Good news Judy, I just got word from the respiratory team.  They are going to remove the tube soon.”

* * *

The doctors had adjusted her bed so that she lay comfortably on her side.  The view she got was so much more exciting than just the empty ceiling Judy had gotten accustomed to.  On the other side of the sparsely decorated room was a window with a gorgeous view of a courtyard.  A single tree stood tall, its leaves fluttering with the wind.  When she was rolled back into the room from the 'walk' earlier, she had noticed a small table filled with flowers and cards for herself and Nick.  Presumably, they were from their coworkers and her absurd amount of family.  It made her feel so warm inside after all the trauma that her family cared about him too.  At first they were confused by their whole situation and relationship, but her family, especially her mom, had grown to love him.  

Something else worried her.  When Nick had come to rescue her, he was a mess.  First of all, he smelled like he had taken a bath in alcohol.  Judy knew that when the fox was stressed, he would drink.  Usually, it was never beyond what he could tolerate.  The fact that he wasn't _exactly_ sober, made her worry about his mental state.  He was alone for maybe five days and decided to drink away his problems?  Judy knew she was going to have a talk with him.  Later on, when she was in a better place herself.  And then he would probably ask about the whole ‘buying a house without telling me’ thing.   _That should be an interesting conversation..._

The sound of her parent’s screaming voices startled her to reality.


	13. A Rabbit's Reunion

**Chapter 13: A Rabbit's Reunion**

"JUDY," without a doubt there they were again.  Her parents ran into the room and almost ran over the older nurse.  They looked like they had been through hell and back, which was probably what had happened.  Even though they had an absurd amount of children, each one was precious to them.  And to hear of such a terrible and life threatening thing happen to one was unheard of.   As well as unthinkable.  Anyways, Bonnie and Stu weren’t used to this kind of thing.  In Bunny burrow, the worst thing that had ever happened was a lawnmower accident.  Well, that was pretty graphic and deeply scarring to the entire town, but this, this was different.  They were not used to any crime like the stuff in the city.  Theft, government conspiracies, homicide?  That never happened in the small but heavily populated community.  That was the main reason they were afraid when Judy made the decision to move to Zootopia.  She would be safer working on the farm, but for some reason it wasn't what she wanted.

The two grown rabbits had severe bags under their eyes, as if they hadn’t slept in weeks.  Her mother’s eyes were red, and she was visibly shaking.  After seeing Judy’s frail, thin figure lying unconscious on the bed for the first time, the other day, she was unable to think straight.  And then when they were turned away from her room because the doctors told them Judy ‘had a breakdown,’ and ‘could injure herself?’  It was by far the worst feeling a mother could have.  To be pushed away from their baby who was crying for their help.  To get a call saying that your daughter has been found and is in the hospital in critical condition.  And to attend her wedding, an important part of any bunny’s life, and then _hear_ her get shot?  

And what was even worse was that Judy had just found purpose in her life.  As a child, she had never been like her siblings.  She _hated_ boys with a passion, despised working on the farm.  That made it incredibly difficult to set her up with any male bunnies.  Bonnie had hundreds upon hundreds of great candidates, neighbors, family friends and colleagues, but Judy refused every one.  She agreed to go on one date with all of them, but never got any further than a hello.  She claimed she didn’t have the time.  After the school play when she was nine, Judy had apparently figured out that she wanted to make the world a better place, which was quite surprising.  She wasn’t exactly the outgoing type, but suddenly something clicked in her mind.  And that was the direction she went in.  

Bonnie remembered a certain day quite perfectly.

_Bonnie dashed across the room to find her phone which was ringing._

_“I’m getting it!” she shouted to the dozens of bunnies who all flocked to the device.  She peeked at the caller ID and gasped when she saw who wanted to MuzzleTime.  Voices from around the room ushered her to raise the volume._

_“Judy, I thought you’d never call!  What happened to the call every hour?  Are we reducing it?  Your father and I are really worried.”_

_“Hi mom!” Judy responded with a cheery edge to her voice.  “I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner, I was really busy today.  I had several case files to go through.  And didn’t I tell you calling me so often distracted me from my work and is_ completely _unnecessary?_

_Bonnie laughed nervously, “Maybe you did maybe you didn’t, old minds do age fast.  Anyways, what were you going to say?  You did call me after all.”_

_“Um mom,” Judy started, “I called because I saw seven missed calls from you.  What’s the problem, you kind of worried me a bit.”_

_The kids laughed in the background of the call.  “Oh right, I forgot about that.  What was I going to tell you again…” She paused gathering her thoughts.  What was it?  It was important, Judy probably would hate it… “I remember!”  Bonnie yelled.  “Do you remember Jordan, the oldest son of the Martins?”_

_Judy sighed, “Oh no mom please don-”_

_“Well he is interested in meeting you so I set up a date for the two of you to meet,” She said while going through her pocket calendar.  The saturday after this Saturday.”_

_“No mom I can’t do that,” she stressed._

_“Why not honey, he seems very nice and maybe you’ll hit it off, hopefully.  I also hear he's quite the handsome one and,” she whispered, “he has quite the bank account.”_

_Judy whispered into the phone.  “Are the kids around you?”_

_Bonnie turned around and saw the dozens of bunnies piling up behind her and staring intently.  They desperately wanted to hear Judy’s lame excuse behind not dating._

_“No?”  she replied, while shushing the kids and turning the camera angle so she couldn’t see them._

_“Alright I can’t go.  A) I’m already busy on Saturday and B) I just can't do that,”  Judy responded._

_From her many years and experience as a mother, she could tell her daughter was hiding something.  “Right… And why can’t you go one one little date?  It sounds like a lazy excuse.”_

_“Mom I’m really busy and it’s hard to explain,” She answered frustratedly._

_“Really Judy?  You say that to everything, and I don’t believe you anymore.  How can you be literally be busy every day I try to set you up?  You can’t have fun once in awhile?”  Suddenly it all made sense._

_“Judy, do you have a boyfriend?” she asked in a teasing tone._

_The younger rabbit answered back oddly quickly, “No, why do you say that?”_

_A few girls started chanting in the background, “Judy has a boyfriend!  Judy has a boyfriend!”_

_“What?  Mom you said they weren’t around!”  She hissed over the phone and her face growing increasingly red._

_“Oh well!  Now tell us about the lucky guy…” Bonnie asked in a mocking voice._

_“Fine, I’m… dating someone… right now.  And before you ask, his name is… Nicholas.”  She was hiding her face in her paws._

_Bonnie was giddy with excitement. Her prayers had been answered.  “Judy, why didn’t you call and tell me earlier!  Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this!  Ooh, when is he going to pop the question!”_

_“Mom!” she yelled, “We’ve only been dating for six months now!”_

_“That long!  My goodness, it should be coming any day now.  Your father and I only dated for a little less than a year.  Anyways, before I get too upset that you didn’t tell me sooner, answer the kids!”  The fifty or so young bunnies were shouting ‘Height! Eye! Coat! Age!’  Which was a tradition among bunnies where the female breaks the news about finding a mate and reveals all his features.  Usually, it was done when the female got engaged and shared her fiancé’s information with the unknowing family._

_“Everyone stop!  We aren’t getting married so don’t get your hopes up._ Mammals _in the city like to spend... more quality time with each other before getting married and having kids, you guys are really rushing the situation,” Judy yelled sounding stressed._

_“Height! Eye! Coat! Age!” the kids kept yelling._

_“No,” Judy answered adamantly._

_“Come on Judy you’re really disappointing everyone here.  We are excited for you, share it with us!”_

_“Fine.  Four feet, green…” she paused and gulped, “red, early thirties.”_

_Everyone in the Hopps’ household grew quiet.  This bunny was, odd to say the least.  Red fur, four feet tall?  It was interesting that she had picked someone so much older than herself too.  Green eyes though, he could be handsome._

_“Well Judy, he seems… interesting and…Unique.  When can we meet him?  You two are coming down friday night.  Okay? Good!”_

_“Mom?”_

_“I think we can accommodate one more…” Bonnie trailed off thinking to herself._

_“Mom!” Judy shouted.  “He can’t... exactly come down.”_

_“Right,” Bonnie said, “another excuse.  Then I don’t believe this Nick character actually exists.”_

_“No, no trust me he does exist, sometimes_ too _much, anyways, he’s, um, very shy.  I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable especially since he comes from a small family.”_

_“Really…”_

_“No I’m serious!”_

_“Judy, if he doesn’t come down this Friday then I’m setting you up with Jordan.”_

_“Fine!” Judy shouted exasperatedly.  “But you can’t judge him or say anything rude.  He’s… a little different …  than the rest us so think before you speak.  I’m saying that to all of you,” Judy shouted to all the bunnies in the room._

_“Love you honey, see you soon!”  Honestly, how different could Nick be?_

Looking at her daughter now, she felt horrible for the way she had reacted initially towards the fox.  When he arrived in her doorstep with a smirk across his face, she thought Judy was dating a bad boy type.  His sarcasm, smirk, and con artist attitude emphasized the point.  She wasn't exactly a speciest, but she wasn't the kindest towards him either.  Especially after hearing her was a hustler and conman.  She turned towards Nick whose bed next to Judy’s.  His limp body lay there, his larger chest rising painfully with each breath.  Now after seeing his love towards Judy and how he risked his life for her, there was absolutely no way in her heart she could dislike him.  

Bonnie slowly walked over to his bed and started combing her fingers through Nick’s fur on his head.  She whispered something almost inaudible.

_“I'm sorry.”_   
The only reason she was, _concerned_ , about the marriage was for her daughter’s safely.  Judy had told her many times her fear was absurd, but now she felt she was right.  Mother’s always know best.  

In the burrows, everyone was highly reluctant to change.  Whereas in the city, it was slightly more acceptable, but not by much.  When Judy had showed up on her doorstep crying after they had gotten _stoned_ by a crowd, Bonnie was appalled.  Especially that anyone would do such an old and disgusting ritual.  And it broke her daughter’s heart, as well as her own.  It was then that Bonnie finally realized how much Judy loved Nicholas.   She was willing to stick by his side and protect him even though they had many haters.  Well, she did tell her mother that there was a fan club for the two at work, but that was besides the point.  Her husband’s shaky voice interrupted her train of thought.

  
"I was so worried about you, they didn't let me in earlier because of the trauma ward and oh my goodness what happened to your throat?"  Stu stammered out while losing his breath.     
  
Her mother stepped in next, "We both were worried sick, and we didn't want to lose you..." Her voice trailed off.     
  
"At the wedding I was so scared because you were gone, and Nicky got arrested, and Isabelle was a hostage," Bonnie turned and buried her face in her husband's neck.  The sudden wave of emotion too overpowering.  Her sobs grew louder and louder.  "I just can't take it that my precious children, Nicky included, were hurt. Judy we thought you were dead."   
  
Stu started crying too, "and the last thing I wanted was to be right.  I wanted you, secretly, prove me wrong.  That would would be able to safely move to the big city.  I didn't want to be right about danger befalling you.  This is the only time I want to be wrong."   


The whole show they were putting on was like a cit-com.  If Judy was in a better mood and physically able to, she would have rolled her eyes.  Even though they were pathetic, she was glad to see them.  After all Judy went through, she needed some form of _awake_ moral support.

   
Bonnie chimed in while wiping away her tears, "after you told us about Nicky, we got a little more scared because he was, you know, different.  All of our fears returned," she started rambling.  Her sentences started to lose direction and purpose.      
  
"And I promise," she sniffled loudly, "that is the only reason why I pegged him for your disappearance.  I love him so much, and I'm so sorry for being," she sighed.  "Such a bad mother. I thought that our last terms were going to be bad."   
  
_Wait, what?_   
  
"It's okay hon, she's here now, oh cripes what's in your throat?"   
  
She looked quizzically at her dad, what did he mean they arrested Nick?  And she blamed him?   They promised they were over the fox prejudice phase, they said they would consider him one of their own children.  Why would they lie to me? **  
**

A harsh voice over the intercom, jolted the three from their stupor.  “Visiting hours are over, all visitors must leave.”

Bonnie slowly and carefully pulled Judy into her arms.  She held her like a baby, refusing to let go.  It was a beautiful mother daughter reunion, no one made a sound besides the slow ticking of the clock.  Bonnie sniffled, afraid of what might happen if she let go a second time.   _They grow up so fast._ She gave her a gentle kiss on the top of Judy’s head.  

Somehow she pulled herself up as Stu went to say goodbye to Judy.  She carefully made her way over to Nick’s bed and placed a kiss on his head before slowly walking out of the room.  He was her son now.

Judy smiled at the sight.  Her parents accepted Nick as one of their own children.  

* * *

Judy watched as Nick stirred on his slumber.  She saw his leg fidget every couple seconds, yet he seemed peaceful.  Now that she was alone, she could gather her thoughts.  

He lay shirtless on the oversized bed with his back was towards her.  She smiled, taking in the sight of his bright red fur.  It was slightly tainted with sweat and probably blood, but she tried to ignore it, and focus on the positives.  Even though he was facing the window, Judy could imagine the smirk eternally written across his lips, and the gentle green sparkle of his eyes.  Her eyes were immediately drawn to the large scar running down his back.  Though his frame was relatively small, the mark ran right down his spine like a lightening bolt.  Separating his body into two sides; a shadow cast upon one laying on the bed, while the light from the window glittered off the other.  

Tears stung Judy’s eyes and panic grew in her gut when she remembered the gun shot, and his form crumpling to the ground.  Almost instantly.  She thought he was gone.  Dead.  But there he was, laying right in front of her.  The snarky fighter survived, the strength built right into his bones.  The sarcasm running through his veins.  Judy didn't see exactly where he was hit in the apartment.  Her heart instantly dropped as she peered again at his scar.  

_Oh no._


	14. Chapitre Quatorze

**Chapter 14: Chapitre Quatorze**

  
A pair of nurses walked into the small room and began futzing with the machines connected to Nick’s body.   The former pulled back the sheets on his bed, revealing a fox wearing only cheap blue hospital shorts.  The cream colored fur on his chest was matted.  Judy watched as his right leg twitched over and over again.  He had always had a sort of restless leg syndrome when he slept.  On multiple occasions, Judy would have to soothe him while he was asleep, and calm him down.   Nick never liked to admit that he had flaws, but something as simple as a twitching leg had always thrown him for the loop.  But this was very different.  The shaking looked less like a result of a deep sleep, and more like something she had seen when she binged Preys Anatomy.  Neurological damage.  Her heart sank as she thought of the worst.  He could be brain dead.  On life support. Completely paralyzed.  Judy watched as a nurse tried to carefully hold his leg down but to no avail.     
  
Judy started to sweat and became increasingly panicked.  Her heart monitor started beeping faster and faster. She received a few worried looks from the nurses, but they went back to their task, tending Nick, when a doctor came in.     
  
The doctor was a leopard, probably no older than thirty five, but could easily be pegged as older due to the exhaustion etched across his face.  He wore your stereotypical hospital scrubs and carried a cup of coffee and a clipboard into the room.   The doctor pulled a chair up beside Judy's bed, and made sure that they were at eye level.  He opened his mouth, about to say something but suddenly stopped.  The leopard grabbed the coffee he had placed on the bedside table and took a long swig before continuing.  He stared at he clipboard with a blank expression and proceeded to throw it haphazardly on the table.     
  
"Good evening Judy, my name is Doctor Sasha.  I was one of the surgeons who helped operation on both you and Nicholas.  So good news first, I'm glad to see you're doing better.  Your recovery these past few days is quite impressive.  That being said, I'm really hear to talk about Nicholas."   
  
Judy froze, her face becoming noticeably pale under her fur.     
  
"Since your his main contact and... wife,  I'm going to give you the rundown and prognosis on his recovery and injuries."  Judy noticed how he stopped and raised an eyebrow at the second part of his sentence.     
Well, they were married in the law, not exactly ceremonious yet.  Yet.  They were so close, just a ring and a kiss away from tying the knot.  That's all Judy wanted, to show the world that they had found love in each other.  Yet some psychopath had taken that away from the both of them.  From the entire world.  They would have been the first big interspecies marriage.  Since they were both so well known, as Zootopia’s favorite duo, they wanted to spread the message that it was acceptable, and hopefully encourage more couples to come out.

The doctor stood up and smiled, "but first, let's remove the tube shall we?  It's about time, what do you think?"  
  
He did a horrible job of conveying fake enthusiasm.  Judy tried to let it go, as she noticed how truly exhausted he looked.  He and the two nurses that had been working on Nick walked over.  Collectively, they placed their paws on her shoulders and head to keep her in place.  Sasha gripped the tube with his paw and pulled it out before she could realize what had happened.     
  
Judy coughed in an attempt to clear the burning sensation in her chest.  She gasped and sucked in air, not realizing how long she had held her breath when hearing about Nick.  So much was on her mind, but one stuck out before the others.     
  
Her first raspy words in days were, "Is he ok?"   
  
"Of course Judy.  He should wake up from the anesthetics in a few minutes, which is why we're talking now."   
  
She sighed in relief, that he wasn't in mortal danger.     
  
"The only problem is that when he spun around to protect you, the bullet lodged its way into his back.  That’s what the forensic reports have told me."  He pulled out a sheet which looked like an x-ray and held it in front of the rabbit’s face.  She could see the faint outlines of what she presumed was his body.  What stuck out to her the most was his spine.  On paper, she saw how curved it actually was.  She already knew that Nick had scoliosis from his general hunched posture, but on paper, it was much worse.  Judy’s eyes wandered down each vertebrae until she saw what was his tailbone.  Just a few inches above lay a black dot on the side of his spine.  It could have been glanced over as a printing error, but they both knew exactly what it was.     
  
Sasha, noticing Judy's discomfort spoke up, "luckily, due to his 21 degree curve, and never getting a brace, it saved him from more damage.  A normal spined mammal would have been hit in the center of the vertebrae and would have instantly been killed."  He pointed to each region on the paper as he explained them.     
  
The information was supposed to make her feel better, but it only made her worse. The realization that he had almost died because she wanted to surprise him with a house.  What a stupid mistake.  She would had never been able to live with herself.     
  
"Anyways..." The doctor drew on, trying to regain Judy's attention.  He put the X-ray down and continued.  "Nick has been through several surgeries so far that have gone thankfully well.  That being said, any type of spinal or cranial injury can result in serious neurological injury."   
  
"So far, we can't be certain on the extent of this damage, but I am certain that.."   
  
Judy dreaded what he was about to say next.  She knew it was coming ever since she saw the scar running down his back.     
  
Sasha coughed before starting up again. "In my professional opinion, he won't be able to walk again."  He placed a large paw on Judy's smaller shoulder and just waited.  Waited to make sure she was comforted.     
  
The rabbits eyes teared up.  He had risked his life and ability to walk because of her.    _And what did I do to deserve that?  I tried to buy him an apartment as a surprise._   
  
Through her tears she watched as two blurry figures grabbed Nick from under his shoulders and knees and rolled him onto his side so he faced Judy.  The nurses smoothed down his fur and removed a tube from his arm before leaving the room.  She stared at his sleeping face in horror, unable to look at him knowing the hell she had inadvertently sent him through.     
  
His eyes slowly started to open, revealing a pair of bright green irises. She continued to cry, her still frail body gently shaking.  Her sobs were silent, but her pain was immense.  Nick stared at her, with a drunken grin spread across his muzzle.  He looked down at himself and then back at Judy.     
  
Oblivious to his awakening, Judy closed her eyes and wished for the horrors to go away, and that Nick wasn't paralyzed.  A deep and slurred voice brought her back to reality.     
  
"You like... Whatchusee..." He mumbled, while pointing to his shirtless chest.  A lopsided grin spread across his face.     
  
Judy stared at him and... laughed.     
All the restraints and added pressure just melted away.  Dr. Sasha chuckled before responding, "Don't worry, he will be doing that for the next half hour.  Until the drugs wear off.  Until then, I’l leave you alone."   
  
Every few minutes he would open his eyes halfway and asked her if she "liked what she saw."  A couple times he would even gasp at her, his eyes getting huge before he drifted off into whatever drug induced world he was forced in.  Every time he was about to say something that was important or at least lucid, he would mumble something else incoherent and crash.  Judy saw the clock out of the corner of her eye.  Half an hour went by which then morphed into 45 minutes.  Each second that ticked by increased her concern.  Soon it was an hour and a half and he was still drifting.  Maybe he really was brain damaged.   _Oh no_ , that she couldn't deal with.     
  
"Do you like what you see?"  Nick said with a raspy edge to his voice.  He pointed to himself for what had to be the hundredth time.  His paw looked huge in comparison to his frail body.  She could see his ribs piercing his flesh, creating a sickly pattern.     
  
Her mouth turned into a scowl when she realized what was going on.  "No."   
  
Nick looked deflated as he frowned in response.  "Really? I've been waiting for a yes for close to fifteen minutes now.  I thought you were going to be happy to see me.  I am now both physically and emotionally wounded," he mocked.     
  
Judy smiled, happy to see his humor back, but generally upset that he didn't say anything earlier.  "First of all, I will admit that I'm happy to see you.  But did you really have to act insane."   
  
They both knew the answer that was coming.     
  
"Yes, yes I did."   
  
He shifted uncomfortably before settling down once again.  He grunted a few times as sharp pain radiated in his back, eliciting a worried look from Judy.  Nick looked her right in the eyes and whispered in a still raspy voice, "You know I missed you a lot.  I was beyond worried."   
  
Judy looked at his green eyes, which were starting to glaze over.   _Nick crying?  No I can never believe that._   
  
"You foxes, so emotional."   
  
"Not emotional, just concerned."  He was blinking just a bit faster.  “I’m not sure what I would have done without you…”   
Judy smiled at him.  “Apparently you would have formed a relationship with the beer fridge.  Don't think I didn't notice, the scent was beyond obvious and we're having a talk about that when we get out of here.”   
"Yeah, sorry about that.  Anyways…” he said trying to change the subject.  “What possessed you to go house hunting on your own?  Didn't I tell you that preds are natural hunters?  We can find killer deals..."   
  
Judy made a point of rolling her eyes.  "And here I thought you had lost your sense of humor.  I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing."   
  
"Please rabbit, when has my humor ever displeased you?"   
  
"Oh I don't know, how about every time we were stuck on parking duty?  Usually because you decided to say something stupid to Bogo.”

“Says the rabbit who got a three day suspension after getting too excited on the job and beat up some random wolf of the street,” he winked.  

“Correction, it wasn't some random wolf, he was a highly wanted crime lord who started throwing insults and slurs at you.”  That was one of her worst days, being told not to come to work for a while because she had tried to stand up for her partner.  It was even more embarrassing, having to walk out of Bogo’s office and out the front door with the entire department staring at her.  Most of them were pitying her, as they heard the entire conversation through the not-so-soundproof walls.  

“Alright, alright.  I will give you credit for being a total badass bunny. You completely kicked his butt.  I still don't agree with chief on suspending you but hey, now I know what it feels like.”

Judy rolled her eyes at the lack of an apology. “Wait Nick, what do you mean you know how it feels?”

“Um,” he scratched his head, looking increasingly uncomfortable.  “I may or may not have been… penalized…  for losing my mind.”

She looked at him with an upset look.  “Elaborate please.”

Nick scratched his head.  “When I walked into your bedroom, and saw the, disturbing display Polexia had set up, I uh.” His voice cracked.  

She didn't want to push him any more, but the only way for him to get better was to talk it out.  

He looked away from her for a second, focusing on the clock.  “Bogo found me in the middle of the floor… And I ran away to find you, but the department… thought it was me.”

“Oh, Nick…”

“After they forcefully, incapacitated me and brought me back to the station…” His voice faltered and a single tear rolled down his cheek.  His earlier joking attitude had completely dissipated.

“He told me you were dead, you would never had survived the blood loss.  I...I couldn't take it.  I refused to believe it,”  Nick was softly crying, his pillow becoming damp and voice shattering.

“Judy, I can’t live without you.”  

Judy placed a paw on her chest, to alleviate the pains that were racing through her heart.  She had never seen Nick cry besides the one time he barely teared up when proposing.  This, though.  This was completely different.  His frail body was shaking and it was breaking every inch of her heart.  Even more so than remembering the torture she went through.  

Nick couldn’t look her in the eyes, all the shame from his whole life coming back.  Judy felt horrible, unable to help the older fox because of the literal distance between them.  She heard footsteps of a nurse in the hallway and signaled her over while pointing to Nick.  The nurse, understood what she wanted and dragged his bed over right against Judy’s.  He covered his eyes with his paws, embarrassed that he succumbed to emotion.  That he was crying in front of Judy and other strangers.  

Judy pulled his body right up against her own.  She gently coaxed his head so it lay over her shoulder, and felt his tears slowly trickle down her back.  Judy slowly scratched his ears in an attempt to comfort him.  She hadn’t felt his warmth in days, and it felt so refreshing.  It made her felt safe, yet now it was her turn to return the favor.  She pulled her head back without bothering her neck, and forced Nick to look her in the eyes.  She leaned forwards so her lips met his and closed her eyes.  He immediately stopped whimpering and kissed her back, a warmth spreading through both of their chests.  Judy pulled away and looked into his eyes while wiping away his tears with her soft paws.  

“Nicholas, listen.  I’m here right now, and I love you.  Don’t be ashamed,” she whispered while stroking the fur on the back of his head.  He seemed to lighten up, just slightly, at the sound of her voice.  

Hushed whispers snapped her out of her daze.  Outside, she could hear Bogo and Sasha talking.  They were mentioning ‘telling him’ and saying things like ‘it needs to be done’.  Judy panicked right as she realized what they meant.  In his current state, the news would be beyond painful.  In his already fragile state, and sudden movement could, and would, break him.  Especially coming from the surgeon who seemed to lack a compassionate sounding voice.  She knew she would probably regret this, but they were running out of time and options.

“Nick, I think it would be best if it came from me.”

Her own violet eyes began to tear up in the slightest bit and his own gaze pleaded for good news.  But there was no way to sugar coat it, or even try to dull the pain.  She glanced over his furry shoulder at the clock on the wall.  The second hand seemed to slow down, refusing to move until she continued.  

“Nick, I don’t think you will ever walk again.”

His eyes shot open, shock wiped all emotion off his face.  “Wait, what do you mean?”

Judy sighed, “I’m so sorry, you’re… you’re paralyzed.”


	15. The First Step

**Chapter 15:**

Nick froze and stared right through Judy. He looked shocked, frozen in time and generally confused by her statement. She began to worry as the fox in her arms looked emotionless and despondent. Before her concern could increase, a nervous chuckle escaped Nick's throat.

He carefully unwrapped himself from her body. "Very funny Hopps."

"You can never pull a fast one of me," he replied to himself with a fake smile.

"While I may be a cop now, I can still point out a scam when I see one," his attention wavered for a brief second. Nick flexed his arm, making a point to show his mobility. While he refused to believe Judy, deep down he knew it was true. The shot to his back raised some red flags from the get-go. The general numbness of his lower body and inability to move his legs. And not to mention his fall. It explained so many things, yet on the surface he needed more proof. As they say in the court of law, mammals are innocent until proven guilty. He believed he was mobile until the doctor told him otherwise. _The fact that I'm using quotes from law shows how much this new life is running off on me._

* * *

Dr. Sasha and Bogo along with two other nurses walked into the room solemnly. The four of them looked like they were part of a funeral procession, grieving someone else's loss. While no one died per say, it still was a horrible situation. They had tried to hard to save mobility. Sasha had performed so many reconstructive surgeries that he eventually lost count. Each one they dug out newly discovered tiny bone fragments and tried to piece Nick's spine back together. But he knew from the beginning, that the fox's case was bad. Not horrible, as he had come across worse paralysis cases over the course of his ten years in the medical field. But not ideal either. The only problem would be breaking the news to the fox. It would be hard to tell for sure to severity of his situation, as it can take 6-8 weeks for sure.

* * *

Many of the officers around the department said he had a heart of stone. Well, they never said it to his face. But he heard every word they said behind his back and frankly, he didn't care. Bogo actually thought of it as a compliment and his strong point. That was how he managed to make it to the highest rank of the department, his ability to not allow his emotions affect him. That was the rule he was taught by his partner many years back. His partner of ten years became not only his mentor but his best friend. "Archie," was what the tiger went by. While he was much older than the buffalo, he was the best detective the force had ever had, and ever will have. The key to his success Archie said was that he never became emotionally involved with any cases. Archie claimed that mammal emotion would always lead to the downfall of any individual being. When he passed on from natural causes, Bogo took all his advice to heart and strived to be like him.

But something changed as soon as he walked into that room three weeks ago. When he found Wilde soaked in the blood of Hopps during their wedding. And then again in another room when he found the two as they questioned the definition of life and death. And now a third time in a third room. Now walking through doorframes gave Bogo a small degree of anxiety. He wondered what the room would hold, good or horrible.

Now, he walked into a hospital room where two young mammals lay in each other's arms. It was so sad to see how two creatures that hadn't had that much time on earth had seen the worst of the world and its creatures. Both were breaking odds with their species. Both were defying all social norms and following their heart. Both had even faced death.

While Archie may have wanted Bogo to keep his heart cold and emotions at bay, there was no way that was physically possible. His stone heart melted at the sight of the fox wrapped around the rabbit, crying. Wilde was supposed to be emotionless like himself. Bogo always overheard Nick saying that he never let any disturbing things he saw effect him. But now, an emotionally solid creature just like the buffalo broke. And it broke something inside the chief too. Maybe it was okay to let feelings show. While he kept a straight face, there was no way he would be able to ignore the emotions running rampant in his mind and heart.

" _Sorry Archie."_

* * *

Judy looked up from Nick and looked at the onslaught of visitors, though _visitors_ was hardly the right word to describe them. More like a harbinger of doom. While it may seem like they were all over-reacting to the situation, they understood the truth of Nick's situation. As in he probably wouldn't be Judy's partner anymore and wouldn't work the same way on the force. That was what she feared most next to his life. That she would lose him as a partner. They worked so well together, and without him, there would only be half of a team. And the last thing Judy wanted was a new partner. It wouldn't feel right at all. She felt as if she were cheating. Worst of all, she knew that there was no way to get Nick to have a desk job, as he had the shortest attention span out of anyone she ever knew. When they had paperwork to fill out, he would complain like a child and constantly go on walks to get rid of his 'extra energy.' Getting him to sit that long was no easy task.

"Alright, both of you, we're going on a field trip," the doctor said over-dramatically. Pointing to the door. Judy looked shocked, this was not the news she expected.

"What?"

Bogo answered gruffly, "PT, now. You two need to strengthen your muscles if you ever want to work again. You've been in here way too long." Judy could tell there was a hint of sympathy in his voice, he knew about Nick's situation yet he was hiding it.

Something didn't add up though, "Too long? We've only been here a week…"

"Try three," Sasha replied while looking at his clipboard yet again. "We need to check on Nick… and see the extent of the damage."

_Three weeks? There's no way._ She peered over at a calendar on the wall. Sure enough, it was three and a half weeks from the day their wedding was supposed to happen.

"Oh and one more thing, that neck brace can be taken off Judy. I'm not sure why it's still there."

"How was this three weeks," she exclaimed to both the doctor and Bogo. Nothing was making sense at all. Judy remembered waking up maybe five days ago, give or take few as they all had blended together.

"Nick here was in and out of surgery for all three so he probably doesn't remember anything."

"I'm right here," he choked out.

"Judy, we had you in a coma for about a week or so, but after that you were on a lot of pain meds so that should explain something…" his voice trailed off as the panther pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on. "Then your minor amnesia probably screwed with your sense of time."

Reluctantly she pulled herself out of Nick's strong grip and let the nurses move him away. As soon as the contact was lost, the warmth inside her body left too.

Each of them grabbed Nick under his arms to lift him up and into a wheelchair. He grunted as he slouched into the chair. The initial shock had worn off his face, but was now replaced by anger and frustration. He was upset at the fact that he couldn't care for himself. That he had to rely on others, yet again.

* * *

They gave Judy a pair of forearm crutches to which she looked at with apprehension. After they spent close to fifteen minutes adjusting to her size, they still looked slightly intimidating. Dr. Sasha and Bogo watched intently as she pulled herself out of the chair as she was told to do. She could feel a tugging at her waist where the shot wound was, which became increasingly uncomfortable. It didn't hurt at all but it felt weird. The new layer of fur that was growing over the shot felt tight and different.

Judy carefully grabbed the crutches from the doctor who waited in anticipation. She slipped them onto her arms and straightened her back before taking one step forwards. Her legs shook beneath her as she hadn't gotten up for three weeks. Judy peered at her reflection in the wall of mirrors and smiled. She took another shaky step and used the crutches as. And then another. Before she knew it, the whole room of doctors were clapping and cheering as she successfully made it across the room. Bogo sighed in relief, he had no idea that he was holding his breath. Something inside him loosened after seeing his officer able to walk. Judy laughed freely at the attention she was getting. Her breath froze in her throat as she saw Nick across the room. He was laying down on an observation table as a physical therapist pulled each of his knees into his chest. His eyes were closed and a she could still see the dampness of his fur under his eyes. His paws were clasped on his stomach as he waited to see his fate for himself.


	16. Confessions and Proposals

**Warning to emotional people like me: The feeling may or may not be arriving in the Zootopia terminal...**

**Also, I think I'm completely incapable of writing something happy lol**

* * *

**Chapter 16:**

A few months later:

Judy wheeled Nick into physical therapy for the what felt like the hundredth time that week. Unfortunately, his diagnosis was confirmed that he indeed had paraplegia, the paralysis of the lower body. After many tests which took weeks to finalize, they got the results after they were clear to leave the hospital. Nick and Judy had no doubt in their respective minds that this was the case, but of course the doctors had to be one hundred percent accurate on their assessment. Nick had learn to accept his fate while Judy was still waiting for some miracle to happen. But of course life isn't some cartoon musical where insipid dreams come true.

To bad that isn't how the world works.

When the news was finally broken to the two in a dark room, they weren't shocked. They just gripped each other's paws and called it a day. That was what life had decided for them. However, it took a very long time for each of them to stop blaming themselves. Nick constantly beat himself up for the entire situation, for failing to protect her. While Judy tried to reassure him that he did nothing wrong, she also blamed herself for initiating the problem and falling straight into a trap.

Judy rolled Nick over to the reception desk and smiled at the racoon.

"Hi, Nick Wilde for 3:00."

The racoon pointed down the hall, "Yes, they should be ready for him."

Judy gave a curt nod before turning the chair around and began walking down the hallway. Nick grabbed each of his legs with his paws and manually crossed them.

"You know Carrots, I think I'm quite capable of checking myself in," he said while leaning his head back so he looked at her upside down. He gave the doe a small smirk.

She rolled her eyes, "Hmm, I'm not sure about that. You never seem to take the initiative to do so. You usually just sit there quietly and say nothing."

"Carrots, I am truly offended. I am not mute and I simply need to reserve my speaking energy for important things."

"Right, what important things could you _possibly_ be doing?"

"Well, have conversations with you is a great way to use up my speaking energy. Wasting it on silly things like checking in is not an efficient strategy. You see my reasoning?"

"Well, I am quite flattered that I am important enough for you to use up speaking energy on."

"You really should be, it's quite an honor. I don't think many others can say that," he put a finger under his chin to show how deeply in thought he was. "You are my honey-bun after all."

Judy let go of the wheelchair and it slowly seized moving. "Carrots, I'm stuck."

She laughed, "Well first off, you told me you are capable of doing things yourself. So you should be able to roll yourself. Especially since you've been working out."

When they finally were released from the dreaded prison of a hospital, Judy installed a bar between the door frame in the hallway for Nick. The doctors said that since he lost half of his body function, he might as well strengthen up the other half. Though it took a lot of coaxing non her side and a lot of complaining from his part, Nick started doing pull-ups every morning. It was great, he was able to pull himself out of the chair by grabbing on to the bar. And when he finished, he slid right into the chair without a problem. What was even better is that Judy installed a second bar in the doorway at the other end of the hallway so that they could exercise together. Every day they would workout facing each other at opposite ends of the hallway, which made it much more enjoyable. The only problem was that they had to go shopping for Nick because his shirts were way too tight around his arms and chest. At least they had to get rid of the horrid Hawaiian one. It was a win-win situation.

"Second off… don't call me that."

Nick started whining and threw his head over the back of the chair. "No, I need your help. Please don't let your fox be thrown into the horrors of the world. Are you really going to leave your crippled and paralyzed husband alone during evil yoga?"

Judy smirked, imitating his regular look. "Well my answer is yes. Yes I would."

"Wow, I am even more offended."

She smirked, grabbing his attention once again.

"Oh no, I don't like that look. Please stop thinking whatever your thinking."

"You have to apologize, or you will suffer through 'evil yoga' alone."

Nick had started calling physical therapy 'evil yoga' once they started making him stretch in uncomfortable and painful positions. They would pull his legs to his chest and twist his body in weird ways. While they said it was necessary to his rehabilitation, they both had thought it was ridiculous and humiliating. Judy usually ended taking photos of him when he wasn't looking.

"Rabbit, what do you want?"

"Hmmm, let's see what do I want," she tapped her cheek as Nick was still stranded in the middle of the hallway. "Give me a kiss."

He gave an exaggerated sigh, "Of course that's what you want. You're a bunny after all, I'm not sure what I was expecting."

"Nick, I'm not that kind of bunny."

"Oh," he said smirking, a plan formulating in his head, "so there's a _them_ now."

Judy's smile instantly vanished as she remembered how she betrayed Nick a few years back. Her actions continued to haunt her.

"Come on carrots, we're already late for the appointment because you decided to abandon me in the hallway."

"Right, sorry. But I still want a kiss."

"You know what, me too. But I don't want to get yelled at for PDA right now. Not everyone likes us Judy," his voice trailed off as they rounded the corner.

"Nick, we're married. Do you really think anyone is going to care if you peck my cheek?"

He responded with a sad smile. "I think you and I both know the answer to that."

She stopped walking for a second and closed her eyes. It was true, anything they did together would get a handful (pawful) of stares, whether it was the holding of paws or an innocent kiss. After the nighthowler case, social injustice was supposed to have gone away. Well, it did. Only for the predators. Now, a different minority was rising up; interspecies relations. And within that, they were categorized into a smaller subset that had worse connotations. Pred-prey relationships. Most just thought it was some inappropriate form of infatuation. Not many understood that the relationship they held was as pure and full of true love as any regular couple could ever have.

She wheeled Nick right over to the doctor. After exchanging a few customary greetings and glaring at him for his unusual lack of speech, 'evil yoga' began. The doctor, who was a young antelope grabbed the unsuspecting fox under one arm, eliciting a yelp from the creature. Judy grabbed his other arm and together they lifted him onto the table. He furrowed his brow and sent her a death glare.

"For a rabbit," he whispered as the antelope turned away, "You're not very gentle."

After they attached what seemed like an absurd amount of electrodes and wires to both his back and legs, he slid back into the chair with a dull thud. The three of them rolled into the main room as Nick huffed. One whole wall was covered in mirrors, roughly imitating a dance studio. Sprinkled around the room were mammals of different sizes with a large variety of issues. They ranged from muscle strains to paralysis. Nick was the only patient for the extreme. Rails and medicine balls were also scattered across the room in many different colors, giving the facility a children-esque vibe. Of course the cheery mood it tried to convey didn't rub off on the fox.

"Carrots, you don't have to come here with me every time if you don't want to."

"Okay, literally just a few minutes ago you told me that you couldn't maneuver down the hallway alone. You also claimed you lacked the energy to check in."

He gave her a look that said, _don't take everything I say seriously_

She smiled, "You know what? Sometimes you're halfway decent, that's why I come with you."

He scowled, "That is the third time you offended me in the past..." he looked at his wrist for a watch, but realized he had none.

Judy pointed to the clock.

"That's not helpful, I can't read analog clocks," he said while grimacing as a few technicians attached the wires to a machine.

"You foxes rely too much on technology. But just so you can finish your sentence, we've been here for close to half an hour."

The antelope shouted while pressing a few buttons, "Mr. Wilde, tell me if you feel anything."

"Aye aye captain," he answered with a salute, retrieving an eye roll from both females.

His ear shot up as he heard the click of a button, "Nope."

Again. "Nothing."

"Nada."

"Zip."

Nick stuck his head out the side of the chair, "Does it count if my leg is vibrating?"

"No," she huffed. "I'm losing patience with you Mr. Wilde. When you _feel_ something answer with a simple _yes_ or _no_."

His ears fell flat against the back of his head as Judy merely chuckled. "Sorry."

"Someone's in a bad mood today."

Judy smiled while poking his bare chest, "I think that someone else is not cooperating."

"Now I _feel_ my leg vibrating, I'm assuming that's good right?"

"Affirmative," the antelope responded.

"You look like a cyborg fox."

"Thanks for boosting my self-esteem carrots."

The antelope whose name they still didn't know called Judy over. She pulled over what looked like an oversized full body walker. Actually, it looked more like the things baby's use to learn how to walk. Together the two threw Nick's arms over their shoulders.

"One, two, three."

They stood up and brought the fox with them. Each of them grunted as they carried him to the walker setup. She could feel the heat in the room, and the sweat gathering on her face. Judy righted his arm around her shoulder as she felt a crick in her neck. He was so heavy compared to her meek body weight. She looked up for a fraction of a second, but it was just enough time to see the look Nick gave her. She felt his chest shudder as he looked down and into her eyes as if pleading, _I'm sorry._ It was heartbreaking to see him this way, like a baby bird and completely helpless.

Another doctor rushed over and pulled his arm off Judy's shoulder because her eyes inadvertently began to water. She excused herself for a second and Nick cast her a worried look.

Judy walked down the hallway towards the door, her pace increasing with every confused glance from other patients. As soon as she stepped outside, the rabbit gasped at the feeling of fresh air in her lungs and slumped against the wall. Her small paws immediately went to her face as the tears fell freely, hitting the pavement with no concern. So much emotion had been built up for so long, that the kettle burst. And all her emotions, self doubt and anxiety stemmed from a single source.

A new presence appeared right next to Judy, making her jump. The figure slumped down against the wall and mimicked her insecure, huddled position.

The mammal began in a quiet voice. "I know I may come across, as less than sociable or friendly, but I promise I have a good heart," the panther said sporting a smile.

"Wow, Dr. Sasha. I haven't seen you in awhile," Judy confessed while pushing the tears away for later.

He shrugged in response, "I came here to check on Nicholas, but seeing you here is a pleasant surprise."

"Well, I'm sorry for my… current appearance. I guess I'm having a bit of a breakdown."

"Don't we all," he chuckled. "I had no idea you were here until the second I arrived I was ambushed by your husband. He yelled at me to check on you, and of course I said yes."

She smiled, _of course he did_.

"What a nice start to my shift walking in minding my own business then having my life being threatened by a fox half my size to find you."

"That's Nick for you," Judy half smiled. _I guess Finnick really did have some influence on him._

"So, what's going on?" He started awkwardly, in an attempt to draw her out of her shell.

Judy sniffled, not wanting to share her emotions, "I don't want to burden you with my… personal issues."

"I understand. Just remember I'm always here for both Nicholas and yourself, if you ever a familiar face to talk to."

"Wait…" she called as he began to get up and walk away

Judy started talking, her diminished voice bringing the doctor back to her. "I thought I had gotten over the shock of his injuries. In the first few weeks out of the hospital, I would lose it every time he struggled to get something. And it disturbed me so much when he used to crawl across the floor…"

The tears started up again, the memories of him dragging his limp body across the floor to get the remote or grab paperwork. That was the catalyst for the worst fight they had, especially since it was right out of the hospital. Judy distinctly remembered yelling at him for crawling and looking helpless, leaving a confused fox in her wake. Her anger was uncontrolled and rather unexplainable as earlier that day she had a particularly emotional session of therapy. Nick was upset that she wouldn't allow him to move around in the only way he could manage to. He yelled at her to get over it, which broke her heart on every level. Judy remembered distinctly how much he hated being carried by her. He always claimed that it should be the other way around. Her small frame shouldn't have been taking care of him.

"Every morning, I pick him up in my arms and carry him from our bed to his chair. A-and he always gives me this look, not on purpose of course. It's so hard to explain," she stuttered, not quite sure where she was going. "It's like he's apologizing and… A part of me breaks every time."

"He always apologizes, but there's nothing for him to apologize for. He feels too much guilt, but I try so hard to help, but… nothing works."

"He just looks so sad. He used to be so active despite his lazy appearance, but now he's confined within his head," she stammered while staring intently at her foot which began thumping at some point. "I'm sorry if I'm rambling at this point, but it feels so good to get off my chest."

It wasn't a lie, even the hours of therapy sessions every week didn't feel as helpful as talking to a familiar face. Both of them were signed up for a mental health program after the 'incident' because they had some seriously pressing issues to deal with. However one was able to deal with the sharing of information better than others.

"I feel horrible saying this, but it's so hard for me to take care of him. I'm so much smaller, and I'm not even close to as strong as I was before. It's so hard for me to take care of him. It's so physically and emotionally taxing. But I do it. Because I love that stupid fox. With all my heart."

"I could never leave him. Ever. We used to laugh together, and we still do. We cry together. Every time he breaks I do too and vice versa; we share the pain. We _are_ each other because we are partners. Partners have an impenetrable bond, that's why we work so well together."

"I'm sorry, I'm venting on you, that you have to hear all this depressing crap," she whispered, her voice sounding angry towards the end.

"No," he replied. "It's good to get it out of your system."

"Just recently, both of us had started getting better. No one cried for at least a month, there were no breakdowns or fights. We joke together now, the banter has returned. I'm just afraid that if it leaves, it will become our last. I can't even imagine how he would fare on his own."

The doctor looked her right in the eye and stated a simple yet heartwarming fact, "You know he loves you."

Even though they had been together for close to two and half years, not counting the time as only friends, a sentence like that still made her blush. Judy buried her face in her knees once again, only this time to hide a smile. She remembered back to elementary days, remembering the same embarrassment when talking to a crush.

She hated to admit it, but it was true.

On a couple occasions, Nick told Judy to stop looking so beautiful otherwise he would turn into a 'fox puddle' before her eyes. Her response would be a punch to his arm followed by a flutter of heart.

Sasha slid an arm around the rabbit as she had begun to shiver. "Well, doctors don't always come bearing bad news. I have to say that Nicholas is showing great signs of recovery."

Judy looked up at the doctor, with a pleading look in her eyes. "Is he really?" she questioned with doubt. "Please don't hide anything from me. I want the truth."

He sighed. This was the worst part of his job. Telling families bad news, that their son or daughter died, a friend needed emergency surgery, or their husband had no chance of full mobility.

"I will be honest, in the beginning we had no hope for him. We were actually ecstatic he even _survived_ the surgeries because of the alcohol level in his system. Usually when paired with anesthesia, it can become lethal. But we started getting more and more hope as each surgery became successful."

He squeezed her paw, "That fox is one hell of a fighter that's for sure. I was talking with Chief Bogo in the hospital after one of his surgeries. He told me, and these were his words not mine, that he had never seen an officer with as much determination and drive as Nicholas did. He barged into the chief's office and wouldn't take no for an answer. So he went out to find you. That's what gave my team and I hope. We realized how much of a fighter that devil was."

"So to answer your question from earlier, I honestly think that he will reach happiness and partial mobility. Granted it won't be as great as before 'incident' but…"

He looked her right in the eye while he whispered something that flipped her perspective on its head. "If Nicholas didn't have you in his life, I would have no hope for him and without his love for you, I would have met both of you in a body bad."

She smiled and looked up at the panther and grasped his paws, "Thank you. So much. I think you just worked out the problem." Tears filled her vision, but this time they weren't created by sorrow, but by joy.

And with that she stood up and walked into the physical rehabilitation center after saying goodbye to the now-smiling doctor.

Judy walked into the room with a newfound confidence. She saw Nick sweating right through his shirt as he stumbled forwards in the grip of the metal walker. It didn't bother her anymore. This was him. And she loved him the same.

Nick's ears stood straight up as he heard the familiar sounds of Judy's footsteps above the chatter of the rehabilitation center. He craned his neck to the side to find her, but was unable to due to his lack of motion. The physical therapist gave him a weird look as he stopped 'moving' and hung limply in the hands of the harness around his waist.

"Judy, are you okay? You really worried me, running off like that," he said when she walked into his line of sight.

She spoke with newfound confidence, "Actually, I'm feeling great. More so than I have been in a while."

His muzzle showed complete confusion at her statement. Not too long ago she ran out of the building with tears in her eyes and now she was… fine?

"Um, I'm glad to hear that. What changed your mood so quickly?"

She smiled, knowing he wouldn't believe her. "I had a great talk with Sasha, and I realized a few things I should have long ago."

He chuckled, "What could the giant panther have helped you wi…. Hey if it isn't my man Sasha!" Nick exclaimed as the doctor walked into the room.

Judy smiled at the fox, no _her_ fox, as he tried to cover up his mistake with his silver tongue. She sat alone on the side, watching Nick carefully drag each leg and inch in front of the other. The slow sloth-like movements lulled her to sleep. Eventually he had made it across the floor and was beaming at Judy.

"Look what this strong fox has done! See carrots, if you didn't come you would be missing so much from your favorite partner."

"I'm pretty sure you told me I didn't have to come. Anyways, I'm your only partner mind you," she replied. She laughed as she flexed his arm muscles which had gotten stronger from supporting most of his weight on them.

Nick smirked, "Fine whatever. Give your partner a hug, he really needs one considering he isn't your favorite anymore."

Judy rolled her eyes, "No way! You're so sweaty and gross, there's no way I'm touching you!"

He pulled his shirt off as the antelope whose name they learned was Antoinette handed him a towel. They staff adamantly refused to get him out of the walker until he was less drenched. After toweling off, he opened his arms waiting for her.

"I see what you're doing there. This bunny isn't that dumb, put your shirt back on."

"Sweaty or clean."

"What do you think?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. _I guess he has rubbed off on me too._

Antoinette and Judy threw Nick's arms over their shoulders and carried him over to his chair once again. The pair packed up after the wires and electrodes were removed and walked together to the car in silence before the fox, as usual, decided to break it.

"So what did you and Sasha talk about? Was it about how absolutely handsome I look shirtless?"

She rolled her eyes, "No actually, I won't go into the details but I have an answer to the question you asked earlier..."

"Sorry rabbit, I don't remember what philosophical question I asked earlier as I do so often."

"You said that no one liked _us_. But, I do. And I think you do too," he stuck his hand up to make a comment but she kept on going, "but I'm not going to ask you because your answer will be sarcastic and not straightforward,"

"M'lady, you know me all too well," Nick whispered while kissing the back of her paw. "But that wasn't exactly a question. There was no question mark at the end."

"Whatever." She paused waiting to attend to her next question. "On a related note, I have an idea."

Nick smirked, "When you have an idea, things go completely awry. I am officially scared for both of our safety."

"No silly," Judy rolled her eyes in response, "I think we should get married."

The silence between the two became increasingly uncomfortable as neither said a word.

"I hope you realize that your 'idea' wouldn't work for many reasons. First of all we're already married as of months ago."

Judy sighed, disappointed in his response. "I mean a real wedding, with a ceremony. Not just some half an hour signing of papers at town hall," she shrugged feeling embarrassed. "My parents keep bugging me about it and they still think we're only engaged…"

"We did have a wedding though, I remember it all too well…" Nick drifted off. Painful memories started to fill his head.

She turned away to hide the embarrassment showing in her face. She had never been one for formal events or showy ceremonies. But having her only memory of a wedding be so negative hurt on the inside. But now she felt so stupid to wish for such a silly thing. To force Nick to get dressed nicely and go through a ceremony when he couldn't walk let alone stand up by himself.

"You know what never mind, that was a dumb idea. I wasn't thinking."

Nick looked like he was deep in thought as they stopped in front of the car.

"You know what it might just work."

Judy looked confused.

"You know what Judy? We'll have a wedding! It will have to be smaller this time, but why not? I'll have to make a few calls before hand to some of my doctor buddies but I think we can make it work."

She felt tears in her eyes, "Oh Nick, you have no idea!" Her voice was filled with excitement and hope. Nick carefully reached out and pulled the collar of her shirt back on her shoulder as it had fallen off in her joy. He put a paw on her hip and grabbed her other paw. The fox spun her around from the confinements of his wheelchair.

"I don't know if we can share a dance the same way. But the wedding will be different, to accommodate for, me. Just like we are." And with that simple statement he gently pulled her forwards and kissed her on her soft rabbit lips. Neither bothered to separate as the wind carefully tugged at their ears. Nick hadn't felt happier in months.

What Judy didn't know, was that he had been planning a surprise for her, and for the wedding.

* * *

**Well, I am sad to say this story is coming to an end. There will be one more chapter where I tie a knot in some loose ends if you get where I'm going...**

**The last chapter will come out I promise, though it might me a week. I am preparing for a cosplay and I want the finale to be as perfect as I can get it to be. Anyways, if you have any ideas for the wedding, feel free to tell me as I love your feedback! And I promise, no more sad stuff after this. It will only go up from here :)**


	17. Tying Loose Ends

Pronunciation tips : Calliope (Cal-eye-oh-pee) 

* * *

Well, let’s just say that wedding was forgotten about.  As fate, destiny or whatever you prefer to call it had its chance, life kept throwing curveballs in the direction of the recovering pair.  Over and over again they were derailed from the path they thought they were going to take.  Complication after complication, choice after choice.  

Although not all complications are bad. 

All it took was one regular check-up to realize that there was a missing being from Nick and Judy’s lives.  And it happened to be carried down the hallway in the paws of nurses, about to be surrendered for adoption.  As cliche and absurd as it sounds, it was the truth; the angel in disguise was a young rabbit mother, probably no older than mid to late teens who was unable to take care of a litter alone.    
  
Together, they decided to adopt  _ one _ , mainly to ensure that Nick would not add cardiac arrest to his already long list of medical issues.  And then there was the fact that their combined social service salaries wasn’t enough to support a family of nine in their tiny apartment.  

And let’s be honest for just a second, neither of them wanted to take care of that many children.  Caring for one crippled fox was enough, not to mention having a physically demanding full-time job.      
  
The little bunny was born slightly prematurely and could easily fit into Nick’s palm with room to spare.  Judy remembered his face when holding the tiny creature; pure amazement.  And longing.  The longing to bring up a mammal and give her a childhood unlike the one he didn't have.   She was surprised that he had been so into the idea.  Judy realized how good of a father he would make.   
  
The rabbit had a cream coat and deep brown eyes that he claimed looked right into his heart.  The one who brought about the whole adoption idea was Nick’s surprisingly.  After catching one glimpse of the newborn and helpless creature much like himself, he refused to let her go into an orphanage.  After the long talk with the mother, an absurd amount of paperwork, and a few weeks they were able to take her home.     
  
The hardest part though was the name.  While they were waiting and still in the recovery stage, they spent probably too much time thinking about names that sounded professional, yet beautiful.  They needed something that was not too girly, but allowed her to be whoever she wanted without limitations.  Judy had made the unfortunate decision of asking the department for ideas.  It wouldn’t have been such a problem except that the most reoccurring name was ‘Gazelle’.  That was a no for obvious reasons.    
  
_ “Margo.” Judy whispered one night.  _ __   
__   
_ She rolled over to face Nick who was sound asleep. _ __   
__   
__ “Margo Wilde.  I like it.”   
  
After that was cared and done for, Judy felt saved when she was finally able to return to work.  Bogo had forced the two to take a four month medical leave, which was to be extended if they didn’t fully recover by then.  Even after the eternity of recuperation time she didn’t feel like she could take on everything that came her way.  Luckily, being in the detective position meant much less running around and pulling mammals over.  Sitting at home all the time had driven her stir crazy.  She asked repeatedly got cases to work on at home in between doctor visits but Bogo adamantly refused such idea.  While it seemed like Nick was happy with the free time and no responsibilities, it was obvious he was missing field work and full mobility of course.  

Being stuck to desk duty wasn’t fun for the thrill seeking fox.  Although it was better than patrolling with Judy in his mind.  Every time he was given the opportunity to ride around with his true partner, he became a nervous wreck.  Nick was always afraid that if god forbid something happened to her, he would be unable to help and save her.  And after the last incident, there was no way he’d be able to live with that.  After bringing the point up to Bogo, patrols stopped happening.  However in the chief’s heart, there was no way he could split the two up as partners.  Instead he gave Nick his well deserved promotion, allowing the two to work on higher profile cases together as detectives.   


* * *

Six years later…   
  
The family of four sat together on the floor surrounding a semi completed puzzle.  The youngest, Calliope, picked a piece up before studying it carefully and placing it back with the others.     
  
Judy quickly grabbed the young fox’s paw with the piece and carefully guided it towards a corner of the puzzle.  “Actually Cali, you might have more luck if it goes over here.”   
  
The kit had a look of total confusion plastered across her muzzle.     
  
“I won't tell you where, because I bet you can figure it out.”   
  
Judy leaned over and whispered in her ear.   A mischievous look spread across her young face as she waddled over to her father and dropped on his legs.     
  
“Oof, Calliope you’re gonna hurt me some day,” Nick said while grabbing her around the waist and covering the creature in kisses.  She shrieked in delight and squirmed with reckless abandon.     
  
“I didn't hurt you daddy,” she said when he finally stopped, with a typical four year old lisp.     
  
Nick sighed and mouthed above her head, “why is she so smart?”   
  
Judy laughed, “She has your blood silly.”   
  
“Judy, are you complimenting me?”  He jested.  It was true, Cali was the daughter of one of his cousins who had fallen into rough times with both the law and financial insecurity.  After seeing her bright green eyes and orange fur, there was no way they could say no.     
  
Nick had also stopped calling her “Carrots” long ago. Even though Judy began to like the pet name, it created a lot of confusion for Calliope.  The young fox went to preschool thinking her mother's name was literally ‘carrots’.  It took a lot of explaining to convince her that a carrot was  _ food  _ and not her mother’s name.  Not to mention that her teachers were perplexed as to why a fox would be called carrots.  That was until  _ the  _ Judy Hopps and  _ the  _ Nick Wilde walked/wheeled in together during parent conferences.     
  
“Define, compliment?”  Judy was drawn out of her thought as a grey blur caught her eye.  A cream rabbit stood on top of a chair trying to reach a book in the highest shelf.    
  
“Margo Wilde, what on earth do you think you're doing?”   
  
Nick smirked in response to a giggle from the younger Cali.  “Margo I would run if I were you, mommy used your full name.  She's about to get scary…”   
  
His snarky comment ended with a rupture of laughter from Calli.  “I love mommy, she's not scary.”   


_ I do too,  _ Nick thought.   
Judy melted on the inside, “I love you too sweetie.  And no Nick, I wasn't addressing you.”    
  
He put a paw to his chest, “Yet again, a tiny rabbit has managed to shatter my heart with her words.”   
  
“Alright Shakespeare, I love you too,” Judy leaned forwards across the puzzle and stole a quick kiss.  Margo squealed with excitement while Calliope covered her eyes and shouted ‘ew’ over and over again.    
  
Nick smirked and placed a paw behind Judy’s back and pulled her face right up to his own.  He looked into her eyes and then peered at Cali who was still peeking through cracks in her paws.  He puckered his lips causing the younger fox to close the gap between her fingers.  Judy rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around Nick’s neck.  She tilted her head to the side and gently put her lips on his, eliciting a soft growl from deep in his chest.  They pulled apart with smiles on their faces as Judy collapsed into his lap.   
  
Margo screamed, “it's just like when the princess falls in love with the prince!  I want to fall in love and get married some day…”  her eyes filled with wonder.     
  
Judy huffed at her comment, “Yeah, that can happen after you go to college and get a solid career.”  Nick chuckled at the ridiculous amount of frustration in her voice.  Judy had always loved and hated the typical princess story.  While the “love at first sight” cliche was always endearing and heartwarming, real life never made anything that easy.  From experience she knew you had to dive a little deeper into one’s personality before developing feelings.  They gave up on their dreams and settled down.  Exactly what her parents wanted her to do.     
  
Nick stared at the two beings in his lap.  “Alright, I only have two of my favorite mammals here.  I'm missing that third one…  Where can she be?”   
  
Margo smiled sheepishly still clutching a book to her chest.  She walked over to the group hug that was taking place and let her father ruffle her ears.    
  
“Margo, what are you holding?” Judy asked. “Is that what you were trying to get down from the shelf?”   
  
“Yeah,” she dropped the little leather bound book.  “There are some questions you haven't answered yet…”   
  
Judy covered her muzzle with a paw, stifling her laughter.  Her daughter tried to sound so professional and wise despite her young age.  She peered at the book in confusion before she realized what it was.  It was a black leather bound photo album that seemed way too familiar.  It was something she knew yet, had been forgotten about for years.  

_ Oh no... _

“Anyways…” Judy began, widening her eyes and pointing at the book.  “How about I take that book?”

Margo clutched it even closer to her chest.  “No.”

Nick lunged forwards onto his stomach from a sitting position, but landed just short from the bunny girl and whatever was in the album.  

“Please Margo!  I’ll give you whatever you want,” Judy pleaded as the picture of two rings on the cover became more clear.

The fox laughed from his compromised position on the floor, “Is the good cop trying to bribe her children?” 

Judy pulled her ears over her face in panic, “I don’t want them to ask questions about the  _ incident  _ because they are not old enough to understand.”

“Relax Judy, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Fine then you do the explaining.”

“Done,” he smirked.  “Only if you help me up.”

He rolled onto his back and allowed her to grab his paws and coax him back into a sitting position.

“Fine Margo what do you want to see?”

She huffed at her parents refusal to cooperate, “Why is it empty?”  With her tiny paws she opened the book up and pointed to every blank sleeve.  They were all black, no photos and no memories.

“Why is what empty?”  Judy asked, trying to play off the question.

“And here I was thinking you were more clever than that.”

“Shut it fox, answer  _ your  _ daughter’s question,”  Judy smirked, emphasizing the word ‘ _ your’. _

“Oh so now she’s only  _ my  _ daughter?”

She put her paws on her hips, “Now you’re just evading the question.”  

Nick had always thought he was unreadable, but when you’ve been married to the same bunny for six years and spent even more time together, that sort of privacy disappears and fades away.  

He pulled the young rabbit into his lap and opened it to another black empty page.  “We ah, never had a wedding.”

Margo’s deep amber eyes grew wide in confusion.  The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock.  “What?  You’re not married?” she screeched.

Nick looked at Judy for help, but she just smirked as to say  _ you got yourself into this predicament, now get yourself out. _

“No, no.  We are definitely married, we just never had time to have a legit wedding.”  He smiled and hugged the rabbit closer.  “And then you two rascals came into our life, and well we forgot.”

They had tried their hardest to tell the young doe to let it go, and that it wasn’t that big of a deal, but…

The thing with kids is that they don’t let that kind of thing go.  All the movies and stories Margo heard had extravagant weddings with beautiful colors.  They were full of joy and fairy tale endings.  And hearing that her parents never experienced that for whatever reason wasn’t acceptable in the young doe’s mind.  

Or in anyone's.  

“Nick...” Judy said while helping him off the floor and onto the couch.  “I do remember you promising something like that…”

He responded with a sly grin, “Then I must be going senile.”   
  


* * *

"You two have broke so many rules.  I'm not even sure what to expect from you anymore..." Isabelle smiled.    
  
Judy turned around with a giddy smile plastered across her face, "Someone did say rules are meant to be broken."   
  
"True, but something tells me that this isn't what they had in mind by ‘rule-breaking’.  Anyways, you were always the one to uphold rules not blow them up from the inside."   
  
"I uphold the law, but I destroy  _ rules _ .  No one tells me how to live my life."   
  
She sighed, "Oh Judy, you haven't changed at all."  Isabelle walked across the room and pulled a white dress out of the closet.  "From the moment we all laid eyes on you, we knew you were going to be different.  And boy, were we right.  You're just so weird!"   
  
Judy rolled her eyes at her sister's comment.  So many of her siblings disregarded her as a sibling because of how controversial everything she did was.     
  
"Says the one who  _ only  _ had three litters."   
  
"Touché.  But here you are having a wedding ceremony a little over six years after the marriage.  The lucky guy happens to be a fox of all mammals whose older than you.  You only have two kids, which is completely unheard of in the burrows.  Last time I checked the census, the average children per bunny family was close to 210."   
  
"Oh and here's the thing that threw us bunnies for a loop.  You still love Nick, even though he's paralyzed.  I'm pretty sure most of us would have just left him for dead because you couldn't have-"   
  
Judy angrily pointed to Calliope and Margo who were playing with dolls on the floor.  Isabelle blushed with embarrassment, lucky that Judy had caught her before she continued.  However, her statement wasn’t a lie.     
  
"I really should have more weddings than.  They really seem to pull both compliments and hidden feelings out of you guys.  These things are like a truth serum."     
  
"Very true, very true,” Isabelle twittered.  “You know how much we love weddings."

Weddings in the burrows were a huge deal and loved by nearly everyone.  Attendance was high as always.  However, together they decided to make the event as small as possible as they were already overwhelmed.  While the action to have a little over fifty attendees was controversial at best, it didn’t upset many as the fox rabbit marriage deterred most of them away.  The two weeks they had to plan the tiny ceremony allowed them to invite their parents, a few of Judy’s closest siblings, and their favorite members of the force.  Clawhauser included.  Nick thought it was going to be nice, the day was going to be reserved for them, and them only.  There was no reception to be worried about, or when the cake would arrive.  No stress, just time to enjoy and live in the moment.

“Are we doing make-up?  I think Nicky will like it...”

Judy shook her head, “No, I don’t have anything besides the cheap stuff from the drugstore.  Anyways, when Nick proposed I wasn’t wearing any cosmetics.  He still liked me.”

She smiled, “First off, I never doubted him liking you, and second off that’s adorable that you still remember that day.”

“That was probably my favorite day, seeing him get down on one knee and just barely tear up.  I mean, that was once I got passed the whole fake-out.”  Judy drifted off, following her own train of memories and thoughts.

Isabelle clapped her paws together. “Come on, please!  You can’t go natural on your wedding day.  It would be ridiculous if I wear some, and the bride doesn’t.”  She slipped a paw under Judy’s chin and forced her to look her in the eye. 

“At least let me do some mascara and lip gloss.  Deal?”

“Only mascara, nothing on my lips.”

“Ugh Judy, you’re impossible.”

“Nick hates it when I have lipstick or lip gloss.   He complains about getting it on himself, he’s such a baby.” 

Isabelle started laughing and slapping the vanity.  In between breaths she choked out, “At least give me a valid excuse.”

Judy glared at her sister, “I’m not joking, he literally refuses to kiss me.  That’s not what we want at this wedding is it?”

“Oooh, so you’re planning on kissing him in front of us, isn’t that right?”  Isabelle joked suggestively.

Judy’s face instantly heated up as soon as the words left her sister’s mouth.  That was still a touchy topic, showing their affection around her family as they were, well…

“You know none of us have actually seen you and him kiss.  That’s one of the reasons mom and dad were so excited for the first attempt of a wedding.  They really wanted to see how that would work,” she paused to catch her breath.  Isabelle’s voice grew quiet as she winked, “I must say, I’m quite curious too.”

Ever since the incident, Nick and Judy were afraid to show affection in public.  They had no idea who out there would take offence.  As sad as it was, they didn’t want to ever be put in that sort of situation again.  To have a chance of losing each other.  Besides the one time at the department where they had snuck a kiss, no one had really witnessed it. Judy wasn’t quite sure she was ready to share that tiny amount of happiness with the rest of the world.

She flashed a smirk at her sister,  _ you might just be disappointed… _   
Isabelle’s loud footsteps pulled Judy to reality.  She pulled a second dress out and unzipped it from the laundry bag.  It was much more traditional than the first one, long sleeves made from lace hung limp as gravity played its role.  It was off white, border line yellow from age.     
  
"So I was thinking, you can wear my old dress or mom's..."   
  
Judy held both up to her body in front of the mirror.     
  
Isabelle pointed to Bonnie's gown.  "Although if you like hers, I'll have to do some alterations.  Mom was much wider and stockier than you," she gestured to Judy's waist and shoulders.     
  
"But mine will probably have a better chance of fitting you correctly.   And considering we have a little over an hour before the ceremony, I don't have time to completely remake it."   
  
Judy giggled, "I'd be honored to wear yours if that's okay..."   
  
"Anything for my favorite sister."   
  
This dress thankfully had buttons instead of ties, allowing for a much more comfortable putting on.  Isabelle spun Judy around so she couldn't see her reflection in the mirror.  The older bunny dragged a chair over and pulled the dress over her sister's head.  She began working at the twenty or so buttons that trailed down her spine.     
  
After the tedious and back-shattering exercise, Isabelle bent down and smoothed out the bottom fabric that cascaded across the floor.  She stepped back from her sister and began rapidly blinking, in an attempt to force back the tears.     
  
"Judy, you look beautiful," Isabelle whispered.  She picked up the two girls who had stopped playing and became instantly mesmerized.  She carefully set Margo and Cali on Judy's old bed and sat right next to them.     
  
"Isn't your mommy so pretty?"  The older rabbit asked with a hint of emotion to her voice.   Neither of them responded, they just gaped with open mouths.     
  
Calliope broke the silence, "She's a princess..."    
  
Isabelle squeezed the four year old fox's paw, "She's even prettier than a princess.  What will daddy think?" She asked.     
  
Margo clapped her paws enthusiastically.  "He will sweep mommy up in his arms and kiss her!  Like in a fairy tale!"  She put her paws under her cheek to emphasize the point.     
  
A mischievous look spread across Isabelle's face, "Hmm Judy, what will daddy think?"     
  
She snapped out of her daydream and snapped her jaw open at her sister's dirty comment.     
  
"Isabelle!  Really?  You know that’s out of the question.”  

“Right, sorry.  Anyways, turn around, look in the mirror.”

Judy slowly turned around, careful to avoid tripping over the hem.  Her eyes met her reflection in the mirror and she gasped.  The dress wasn’t quite scandalous, but it wasn’t as modest as she usually liked.  Considering this was Isabelle’s dress and she was one of the more...  _ outgoing  _ bunnies in her family, she wasn’t that surprised.  Her shoulders and upper back were completely exposed, allowing for her fur to shine in the light.  The skirt portion was full.  After it hugged her body towards the top, it suddenly became less form fitting around her hips, and completely exploded.  Small jeweled beads embroidered the waist and sent rainbow reflections across the room.  All three girls stood mesmerized by their mother and sister.     
  
“What do you think?”  Isabelle whispered excitedly.  There was something exhilarating about the fact that her younger sister was wearing her dress.  

Her  _ wedding  _ dress.

It was almost as if the fancified piece of silk was given a new life, a new purpose.  And it was an honor that the one she looked up to the most was going to wear it on her very special day.  Her wedding day that was six years late.  

Time didn’t matter though, it was just a number.  

Subjective.  

Different in each mind.

Life had taken a huge toll on her little sister, or she thought it did anyway.  It was impossible to tell when her emotions were being covered by a worried smile.  

“It's, a little… skimpy,” Judy replied while pulling at the plunging neckline.  

“Really Jude… skimpy?  Geez, I knew you were on the modest side, but this is ridiculous.”  She cocked her head to the side and tugged at the fabric that lay on her shoulders.  “I could pull it up a bit, but then I’d have to loosen the waist cause your hips are huge girl!”

Judy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from beaming.  “Thanks Isabelle, your help means so much,” she said, buttering her up before going in for the kill.  

“And can you raise it just a bit more, I feel a bit exposed…”

The older rabbit rolled her eyes, “You are the only one I know who considers that a bad thing.  Anyways, are you sure you don’t feel emotionally exposed?”

A familiar voice at the door shocked them out of their train of thought.  

“Are you ladies done in there?  I think there’s more gossip and girl talk happening than actually getting ready…”

Isabelle ran to the door and slammed her small body into it after pushing the lock.

“Get away Nicholas!  No peeking at the bride yet, that’s standard wedding etiquette!”

He chuckled, “I forgot about the bunny traditions when I peeked through the cracks and saw you rabbits get changed.  It’s quite a sight…”

“Nick!” Judy yelled while covering herself.  Self consciousness leaked from her voice even though she was fully clothed at the moment.  

“Whoa, Judy.  I was kidding.  I just wheeled here to ask where the girls are staying.”  

“Oh, I’m going to take them with me.”

Nick shouted through the wood separating them, “I can’t hear you.”

“I’m carrying Calliope and walking with Margo.”

“Sorry honey, I have no idea what you’re saying, you’re going to need to come closer.”

She threw her arms up dramatically and rolled her eyes before walking to the door.  She pushed her sister away from the door and cracked it open.  Judy stood behind the wood and stuck her head out from the side.  

“Fox, you need to get those ears checked if you couldn’t…”  He leaned forward and pulled her into a quick kiss so that Judy blocked her sister’s view.  He closed the door with a satisfied smirk eternally plastered on his muzzle.  Judy’s mouth hung agape at his quick action. 

“Oh and one more thing,” he shouted, his voice muffled by the wall, “I like what you’re doing with the girls.” She turned to face her shocked sister who was watching him wheel out the door of the Hopps’ household.  

“What do you find in him again?”

* * *

Judy looked through the veil at the hazy view in front of her.  Her parents had graciously lent them their farm for this little, gathering, to take place.  They couldn’t really call it ‘wedding’ considering that the only thing that made it one was that she was wearing the traditional white dress.  And well they had prepared vows.  Well, Judy had prepared and memorized them.  She had a feeling that Nick would probably come up with something on the spot, but he had a way with words.  She wasn’t worried.  

Unlike last time, there was nothing for her to be worried about.  Ages ago she was stressed about whether or not the ceremony would go correctly.  But now, standing in the mild weather surrounded by her two children, friends and family, she felt at ease.  Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.  Judy felt safe and secluded from the horrors of the world.  

She readjusted the young fox who was sitting on her hip, who had begun playing with the gold band that lay around her her upper arm.  She kissed Calliope on the nose as the kit squirmed at the ticklish sensation.  The bride looked down into the kit’s green eyes.  Her breath hitched in her chest as she realized how similar they were to Nick’s.  An idea formed in her mind as she spotted a small patch of wild daisies under her bare feet.   _ There’s still time. _

Judy sat in the grass, allowing the fabric from the dress to completely encompass her.  Just as she had done hundreds of times in her life, she picked the dainty flowers and began weaving them together.  Eventually, a flower crown was created and gently placed on Cali’s auburn head.  The process was repeated for Margo, and soon enough both girls had handmade crowns that matched the blush pink of their dresses.  

“Now would you look at that,” Judy whispered at eye level with her children.  “Now you are just as pretty as me.  Maybe even more so…”

She feigned a pouted face, “I’m quite jealous now.”

Though young, they got the clue instantly.  Their nimble fingers got to work weaving more and more flowers together.  While the knots were messy, she bowed her head down she let them place their creation right over her ears which ran down her neck and upper back.  

The music eventually started and the three got up to face the crowd.  Judy grabbed Margo’s paw and picked Calliope back up again.  She carefully placed one foot in front of the other to avoid tripping on the uneven soil.  Much to her surprise, the entire force had showed up.  A tear grew in Judy’s eye at their rowdy whooping and cheers.  They came to the informal wedding to show their support for their colleagues and to protect them.

Judy gazed at the gazebo and looked at Nick for reassurance.  He stood tall and gave her a tiny wink.  She looked down at her children who smiled in return, giddy with excitement.

_ Wait?  What? _

Judy flung her head to the approaching gazebo and stopped moving as if she was frozen in time.  The small crowd grew panicked at her reaction but when they finally looked towards the source, their breaths were taken too.  

A muffled sob escaped the bride’s throat as a paw flew to her face.  Keeping her emotions at bay was no longer going to work.  

One thing echoed through her ears; the ticking of an irregular clock .

Or maybe it was just her heart.

Judy cried freely as she picked up the hem of her dress and ran with the young rabbit and fox.  While she could feel the stinging of the rocks beneath her feet, it didn’t prevent her from reaching her destination.

She stepped right in front of Nick who gave her a small smirk.  Her reaction was perfect in his mind, even more so than he expected.  But she was happy, and that’s all that mattered.

Judy gently reached forwards and placed a paw on his cheek, making sure it was who she thought it was.  Yes the fox still was Nick Wilde.  Green eyes, red fur, lanky but strong build, sarcastic smirk.  But something was wrong with the mammal in front of her very eyes.  The difference between the Nick she knew and the Nick in front of her was what instantly shocked her mind and body.  

She had to look  _ up  _ to see him.  

Because he was  _ standing… _

Granted  _ all  _ of his body weight was supported by a pair of crutches, but he was  _ standing _ .  Just like the Nick Wilde Judy began to love over six years ago.  

There were so many questions she wanted to ask; what happened, who helped you, how?  Judy wiped away her tears and broke the heavy silence with one word, “Why?”

Nick was just about to come up with some witty remark about how he refused to have a threesome with her and a wheelchair, but much to his surprise the words got caught in his throat.  He felt his jacket grow tight around his chest, though it will still be a mystery if that was caused from his stronger body or the holding of his breath.  The sight in front of his aging emerald eyes was just enough to wrench his heart in all the right ways.  Judy was beautiful, the light reflected off her teary eyes as she stared at him with love and confusion.  

Soon enough, the simple six word phrase pulled the couple out of their dreamy world. 

“You may now kiss the bride.”  

And just like that, he looked down at the family that stood in front of him.  

_ His  _ family.

There was Judy, who was still visibly shocked and an emotional wreck, Calliope on her mother’s hip and Margo who reached forwards and wrapped herself around his limp legs. 

He smiled, not a usual smirk or smart-ass look, but a full on smile.  The life-changing events that happened years prior melted away.  The scars washed right off from his mind. 

After all, _“Some things are best left forgotten.  Forever.”_ _-_ _Scott Cawthon_

The wedding will go down as the day Nicholas Wilde, the fox with a silver tongue had finally run out of words.

Because though he lost something, what he gained was more than he could ever hope for.

Just as he leaned forwards to meet her lips for a kiss, Judy pulled a small decorative fan out of her dress and covered their faces.  Their moment was only enjoyed by themselves.

  
  



End file.
